Raped, Ruined, and Repaired
by Kira Kiwaseki
Summary: Two girls. One goal. To get out: out of their parents pushy rules, fake lives, and depression. With the help of themselves, they can. But what's the price of freedom? OCXOC LXLight warning: child abuse. rape in later chapters.
1. Prologue

Prologue

On March 24, 20XX, in Tokyo, Japan, a baby girl weighing six pounds, three ounces was born to one Light and Misa Yagami. Crowning her small head, laid silky, fine, light-brown hairs and her skin showed a tantalizing cream-colored tone. She had one dark birthmark on her left hip that looked like a crescent moon. Her eyes were a brilliant bronze-sky light with stars that shined indefinitely. The cry she emitted from her parted lips was subtle and almost held a mannered tone to it, making her cry cute and appeasing to the ears of her tired parents.

She was born into a family of pure elites where her father was smart, her mother was a sex goddess, and her brother was an arising asset in his school. Overall, she had a ton to live up to in her family of tops. In time, she would become used and battered by her mother and brother, and loved only by her father who was never at home. For her mother thought her to be average from the moment she first held her daughter, her brother was selfish and self-superior, thinking that she would become an excellent slave, and her father seemed to be looking for something all the time. Her mother and brother, never set her free unless they needed to use her for some dirty work, held her under lock and key. The baby girl never got a chance to choose, never got the chance to be, she was only forced into things; things unpleasant and out of her control.

Similar, on the same day, in a house in western England, another baby girl was born eight pounds, eleven ounces to an L Lawliet and a woman who used L to gain money for selfish reasons. Gracing her head was soft, thick, charcoal-colored hair and her skin was an enticing porcelain-white able to put the Porcelain Dolls to shame. Her birthmark was on her right hip and was in the shape of small lips. When her eyes opened, you could see dark, blueberry eyes that were sweet, but held the edge of the tart in them. When she cried, the sound echoed through the room, a majestic noise that was low, almost stating the fact that it was there and nothing could stop it. It scared the woman.

Her family consisted of five males; her father, grandfather Watari, and Uncles Matt, Mello, and Near. Her family held the proud reputation of being some of the smartest people in the world, her father being at the top. Although, later information said that someone was just as smart as her father was. Her grandfather was a kind man, but he was placed in a wheel chair after he broke his hip. Her three uncles had a thing for being weird, but understanding. In time, she thought of them as playmates and friends. However, during her stage of growing up, she would be subject to a father who smothered her with strict rules and she would learn that defying her father would mean her end. She was to learn how to hide herself and all that she is, to protect herself and her family from death.

Eight years was all it took for these two girls to realize that they had a jailed life and that they would never be freed unless they gave up all that they knew. The only things safe from the outside world were their thoughts and wishes. Wishes of finding something, anything, which could get them free from where they were. Little did they know that dreams can come true, pasts can haunt you, and the world really was not as big as they thought it was. Soon, their lives would be changed. Soon, their lives would not be her owns, but theirs combined. Soon, they would be no more.


	2. The usual day begins

"TSUKIAKARI!"

"Coming Mother!"

Tsukiakari, at eight years old, rushed down the stairs. She was graceful, like her father, her long blonde-brown hair swaying rhythmically with every step. The uniform she was wearing was a mahogany red and white two pieced skirt and shirt. She was in third grade and tried her hardest to make both her parents proud. She did not want to upset them again.

When Tsukiakari was four, her father had gone away on a trip for work, as he usually would, and would be gone for about three or so days. Tsukiakari spent her time on the couch downstairs while she watched her brother play with friends that came over to stay during her father's absence. Her mother watched over them while cooking dinner. At the time, she was still in the phase of 'I can cook'. Tsukiakari's brother however, knew that her cooking was horrible. When her mother was done with her cooking, she went upstairs to relax, but Tsukiakari's brother decided that they would trash the food and at one point, she walked in to see what they were doing. They encouraged her to join in, and she did for a time, until her mother walked in on them.

That night left Tsukiakari in tears as her checks hurt on both her face and bum from her mother and her father, once he came back from the meeting. Her brother had claimed that it was all her fault and he was just trying to stop her. Her mother believed him and told her husband about their violent child, so Tsukiakari was punished. Even though her older brother disobeyed and was never punished, she knew she would be. Therefore, disobeying her parents and brother was not an option. She still held a grudge, however, against her brother for lying, her mother for believing, and her father for never coming home to get the full story from her.

"Yes, mother?" asked Tsukiakari as she reached the bottom of the stairs and spotted her mother.

"Tsukiakari, please do come down the moment I call you. I don't want to stand here all day when I have work," said Misa, her mother, exasperated.

"Sorry, mother," apologized Tsukiakari, when in fact it was only a few second delay.

"What's done is done, but I have a list of what you need to do before Light-kun comes home."

Tsukiakari's eyes sparkled, "Daddy's coming home tonight?"

"Hush, don't interrupt me," snapped Misa as she returned to her adoring state.

Tsukiakari flinched slightly, but nodded as her mother continued.

"Tonight when you get home from school, you need to go pick up your brother's birth week cake from the bakery, then come home and make dinner for us, but don't get carried away. Remember that **I **will be getting credit tonight for the food, including the cake," ranted Misa.

"Understood," said Tsukiakari.

"I told you not to interrupt me. The world doesn't revolve around you ya know," bit out Misa childishly.

Tsukiakari mentally sighed as she waited for her mother to finish, smiling her fake smile to hide behind in secret. She learned that trick from her father.

"Make sure you set the table and clean the house. You will be rewarded **only** if you get everything done before I get home at six. Since it is Friday, you will be able to go out and play at the park or something along those lines. Just make sure you get the chores done. You got that?"

Tsukiakari paused for a split second to see if her mother was going to say anything else, but apparently, not, "I understand mother."

Misa cheered, "Alright, then, I'll be leaving now, your brother will take you to school, but then you'll have to walk home."

Tsukiakari watched as her mother hurriedly got her things together.

"Bye Yukio, have a happy pre-birth week! Love you," shouted Misa gleefully up the stairs before turning towards Tsukiakari, "Behave yourself."

"Yes ma'am." replied Tsukiakari obediently.

With that, Misa promptly left the house. Tsukiakari sighed and her mask fell from her face as she grabbed her book-bag from her room. She walked into her room and looked over at the window. She could see multiple birds fly out into the crisp morning sky. They flew through the air playfully and majestically, freely.

Tsukiakari sighed again before she moved back downstairs, mask back on. She sat on the couch, waiting for her brother. Within the minute, her brother descended the stairs.

"Grab your stuff and move," growled the unhappy brother, "I got friends to pick up and you're just a space waster, so move your fucking ass, bitch child."

Tsukiakari just nodded in response and ran out to the car, she still had a half an hour til' school started, but she did not want to be a burden to her sixteen year-old bother. It was almost his birthday after all.

"Fucking waste of shit hangover," muttered Yukio as he turned on the ignition and sped towards the elementary school in high speeds to drop her off.

He, of course, flew through the stop signs as if they did not matter and scared Tsukiakari half to death when he slammed on the brakes to yell at a kid walking across the street. Tsukiakari ducked down out of sight as she saw that it was one of her classmates walking across with their mother. She blushed in embarrassment as a stream of curses came out of his mouth for the small family to hear. Then he continued driving as if nothing happened. Tsukiakari prayed to god that when Yukio dropped her off, her classmate would not recognize the relationship with her brother and his car.

The moment they reached the school, Yukio kicked Tsukiakari out of the car, literally. He cursed at her a bit more before he left, speeding towards his friends' house. Tsukiakari got up and padded herself off, feeling very self-conscious. She turned towards the entrance of her school and walked on with her mask and list. She really hoped that none of her classmates made a connection.

She was relieved when she saw that no one seemed to take any notice to her situation. She walked up to the door as some of her classmates came up to her and asked her for her homework answers. She smiled at them and gave them the answers she had gotten. For her it was just going to be another long, and boring, school day.

********************************************************In another section of the city*********************************************************************

At eight, Samantha never really cared for the whole 'moving around' that her father had to do for his job. She could not have any friends, not as if she would be able to keep them anyway since she never left her room. Her hair was short, black, and silky. Her hair was slightly impossible, however, since it kept knotting and poof out like her fathers. It was not as bad as her father was, but still as un-tame as ever.

Her father kept Samantha on a short leash, making sure she did not go out of the house or hotel they were staying in during their visits. She was only ever allowed to go out in England with the other children in Whammy's Orphanage. Her uncles had to be watching her, however, and frankly, Samantha hated how caged she felt.

When she was about four, she walked towards the closed gate to see how far the distance between the orphanage and the road was. When she looked out, she was amazed at the beautiful view. Samantha had actually reached out to try to go, but found that she could not go. Shocked for a moment, she fell onto her bum and cried. It was not a loud cry, but it was deeply heart retching. Her Uncles came over to try to calm her down, but even when her father came out, she could not stop crying. The doctors later pronounced her depressed as since she had been crying for two weeks straight and did not stop until she slept. She did not even smile anymore, really.

Currently, though, during afternoon hours, Samantha had her head on her arm, on her door. She watched other cars drive by and wondered if she may actually be able to go and walk around town. She sighed into her hand in boredom and looked over into the car.

In the front seat sat her Grandfather, Watari, with a blanket over his legs and a book on his lap. Her eyes wondered over to the driver, who was none other than her father, great detective L. He was as emotionless as he usually was, even when driving. He was a relatively good driver for only starting about four or five years ago. She loved him to death, but he was overbearing most of the time. Eventually, L could feel Samantha staring at him and he looked up at her through the mirror.

"Samantha? Is there something you would like to talk about?" he asked uncharacteristically.

Samantha shook her head and looked back out the window, putting her legs up onto her seat. Her arms wrapped around them, and she laid her head on her knees. She rubbed the side of her face on her knees, practically screaming to bury herself into her very skin. Her eyes teared up, but tears never fell. She found that emotions really do not matter anymore after her useless attempts, so she never cried.

"Samantha," said L slightly worried, "Something is wrong. Please tell me?"

Samantha sighed, "It's nothing, Father."

"Samantha," He used his serious voice.

Samantha placed her chin on her knees without looking at her father, "I am just confused why I had to come with you…"

"You are my daughter."

"…"

"I have the duty of protecting you as I see fit. In order to protect, you must be near."

"….Yes, but couldn't I have stayed with Uncle Matt?"

"You could have, but Mello would have locked you in a closet to get Matt's attention."

Samantha sighed, she knew that was true, but what about Uncle Near.

"And Near wouldn't be able to stand being by you too long. Remember, he's still weary about you chewing his _other_ toys."

"I was **four**. I don't really even remember doing it, let alone why I did it…"

"I don't think he cares, you hurt something precious to him. It doesn't matter if you remember or not. It was the depression destroying, not you."

Watari winced, remembering the incident well. Samantha had been in the fourth week or so of her depression when this had happened. The adults were discussing Samantha's depression when they heard a crashing sound from upstairs. They rushed up and found that Samantha was having a breakdown; throwing things, this way and that. She had gotten a hold of one of Near's robot's and smashed it against the window. L had to manhandle her as she almost hurt herself on the glass. For about three days, Samantha had destroyed most of Near's room, until she eventually just stopped and fell to the floor, crying, but out of energy. It took a long time for Near to even look at Samantha again, let alone any of the other adults to treat her like they used to, afraid that she would try to hurt herself and others. Near still does not allow her anywhere close to his toys, or anyone else.

"He must be happy that I left then," muttered Samantha.

"No, I think that they are all going to miss you very much," said Watari, who had watched all three L heirs wave sadly at them when they left.

Samantha hugged her knees closer to her body. The cars outside caught her eye again.

"Hopefully, after we're done here, I can go visit mother's grave in Seattle," muttered Samantha to herself.

"You will do no such thing," said L, "Were I go, you go. Were you go, I go. Moreover, I am certainly not visiting some place that holds no relevance to us. That woman was simply in it for the money, nothing more."

Samantha did not say anything else aloud for her fathers own good. She knew that her mother was just in it for money, but she meet her grandmother once, visiting the grave herself from California. She happened to be one of the nicest people she had ever met. She was outgoing and strong, and owned her own business with a hotel and host bar. She hated her daughter's choices, but she made sure that her other 'children' did not make stupid errors or mistakes. However, Samantha's father did not know that she had ever met her. She planned to keep it that way.

L pulled to a stop as the light before the major intersection turned yellow.

"I'm sure we'll have a better time here anyway. You'll have fun…" L was forcing it out of his mouth.

"Father," sighed Samantha, "I am clinically depressed. _Fun_ is not part of my vocabulary. You force it too much."

"Samantha," commented Watari's voice, "I think that you may actually have some fun."

"Grandpa?" asked Samantha, curious as to how she would have fun, "I'll just stay in my room the entire time. I will be focusing on homework and read. Normal people would _not_ call that fun."

"You are not normal," said L, "Studying is a good thing."

The light turned green and L made a left turn.

"For Cramming kids, perhaps," said Watari smiling back at Samantha, "However, not for someone smart and so young. I think she should go outside some times."

Samantha perked up slightly at the suggestion, but went back down the moment L started to talk.

"No. She shall stay inside where it is safe," L said firmly.

The intersection they came up to turned red and L braked again.

Watari looked at L with sad eyes, "You can't keep her locked up forever. For one, it is not good for her depression and two; she needs some sort of human interaction. Unlike you who goes undercover every once and a while, she is always stuck at home."

L looked at Samantha through the mirror. She stared up at him with cloaked, hopeful eyes before he finally cracked.

"Fine, when we get settled into the hotel, I'll allow you to go _only_ to the small shop circle in the town. It's about twenty minutes to walk there."

Samantha nodded her head before placing her check back on her knees as she looked back out the window. A small, innocent smile graced her face for a moment, but L and Watari saw it. L felt relieved as his daughter finally felt a bit more secure, knowing that the silence and smile was her way of saying thank you.

L snapped out of his thinking when the light turned green. He eased up on the brake and began to move when a car popped out of the other side and swerved over into the other lane. L braked as the other car barely missed collision from him and flew into the other lane. He honked his horn, glaring at the crazy car, noticing that one, there were more kids in that car then legal, two, a blond haired boy no older then sixteen was driving, and three, the licenses plate read Y0UU0M3 (Taken for 'why owe you, you owe me').

"That child should never have gotten his license," growled L as he nearly had a heart attack.

L started back towards the hotel before looking to see if every one was all right.

"Watari?" asked L.

Watari had a hand over his heart, "Shaken a bit, but I'm ok."

"Good. How about you, Samantha, are you all right?"

L looked back to see Samantha staring blankly towards the crazed car before stating; "License plate y-zero-u-u-zero-m-three. Crimes for going over the speed limit by eleven, running a stoplight, and driving with an illegal number of passengers…."

She sighed quickly, going back to her perch of sitting with her face staring out the window, muttering, "Yet another good reason why I should have stayed with Uncle Matt…..bloody drivers."

"Language, Samantha," said L, now mad at the car that almost killed them for bringing his daughter back to resentment and his daughter for using a curse word.

"Sorry father," apologized Samantha with absolutely no sincerity.

She did not feel like it really mattered much anymore anyway. She would have to suck it and get on with it, but that did not mean she had to like it. No, she was going to be difficult, whether her strict father wanted to punish her or not.

**Note:** If you like how this is going, please tell me, and if you think I am missing something, please tell me. However, I hope you are enjoying this.

Sincerely,

Kira Kiwaseki

Please review! Cakes and pies for those without lies!


	3. Café Collision

Quick notes:

'_This is thought bubble'_

"This is speaking"

"_This is English from now on.__"_

And Disclaimer: I do not own death note, but I do own the children!

**TSUKIAKARI **

Once the school bell rang for the thirty-minute free period, the classmates of Tsukiakari cheered. The Friday predicted nice weather in the future, thus the weekend was promising. The classmates chattered about what they were going to be doing, whether it was going out with friends or to a privately owned hot springs, it seemed that everyone had something to do.

Tsukiakari read in her seat during the period, choosing to listen and read, instead of joining in with a conversation that did not matter in her case anyway. Her classmates talked about their trips and plans in awestruck amusement.

"I'm soooo excited! My uncle is having his wedding this weekend and I am going to be the bride's veil carrier."

"How cute!"

"You are so lucky!"

"Yeah! His fiancé is also having a baby!"

The girls screeched. Tsukiakari caught the boys flinch out of the corner of her eyes.

"You girls are so loud!"

"Who cares about a stupid wedding? It would be so much cooler if you went to the Fuji Mountain!"

"You girls are so retarded! Especially you Ikebana Kaoru-san!"

The girl known as Kaoru glared over at the boy and smirked.

"And _who_ will soon be related to this retard, dear cousin Shika-san. Or should I say dear cousin Ikebana Makoto-_Chan_?"

The boy flushed darkly as his friends laughed at him.

"Shut up! Just 'cause my mom is gonna be your uncle's wife doesn't mean I hafta call you a relative!"

"Yeah it does, idiot! That's what marriage means!"

Everyone else laughed as the two growled at each other. One of the girls who were laughing stopped when she spotted Tsukiakari and walked over to her.

"So what are you doing this weekend, Yagami-chan?" asked the petite, kind girl.

Tsukiakari looked up from her book and smiled sweetly at the girl who started to blush lightly. Their classmates stopped fighting; wanting to hear what the kind, smart girl did during the weekend.

"My Yukio-Onii-san's birth week started today. I am helping my mother get everything ready for him by doing the house chores," said Tsukiakari sweetly with a smile.

"Awww," the class said together.

In her mind, Tsukiakari blanched and called her classmates oblivious saps, but on the outside, she smiled at them kindly. The bell rang suddenly, and the class said goodbye to the teacher and left Tsukiakari in the room to clean up. The teacher said goodbye and helped Tsukiakari clear the messy classroom. Tsukiakari liked the teacher; she actually liked most of the teachers in her elementary school.

"Are you ok Yagami-san?" asked Mr. Tamaki as they started to put the cleaning equipment away, "You don't seem to have any new bruises today."

"Yeah, I'm not as clumsy today as I usually am," said Tsukiakari as she faked a happy smile.

Mr. Tamaki smiled at her in relief, which Tsukiakari noted quietly. Tsukiakari felt so guilty lying to her teacher, but what could she do. She cannot go up to him and say 'Yeah, my brother was to drunk last night to do anything and my mother was too worried about his birthday to even notice me._'_ That would go over great. The teacher would freak and then call the police and tell them about it. He would get Tsukiakari's father on line and tell him his family is mistreating her. Light would then come home and yell at Misa and Yukio. They would deny everything and eventually, Light would give up, put cameras up in secret, and go back to work, leaving Tsukiakari alone. The small fatherless family would act all nice and friendly for a bit before the cameras would turn off for obvious 'lies' that came from the teacher. Two angry family members would attack Tsukiakari before shutting her into the 'cabinet' without food for the night.

That was NOT what Tsukiakari had in mind this weekend. Besides, the bruises she got were not as bad as when she got the concussion from her brother smashing a vase into her head and her mother telling her to clean up the mess she made. That left scars and caused her to forget about the day before when she had the chance to go to a field trip to the Zoo.

"Have a good day, Mr. Tamaki," said Tsukiakari as she left the now clean classroom with all of her things, "Make sure to say hi to Mrs. Tamaki and the baby!"

Mr. Tamaki smiled back at her, "You too, make sure to say hi to your father for me! I'll make sure to tell Kirimi-chan and little Saki-kun you said hi!"

Tsukiakari waved as she walked away, "I will! See you on Monday!"

"Oh! HAVE A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW YAGAMI-SAN!" called Mr. Tamaki.

Tsukiakari genuinely smiled, someone actually remembered her birthday. She walked down the hall, and was out of Mr. Tamaki's view before long.

Tsukiakari grabbed her list from her bag and looked at her watch. It was currently 3:47 and she still needed to get to the bakery, cook, and clean the kitchen. She went to the school entrance and switched her school shoes to her running shoes. After going on most of her father's runs, she found that she was indeed a good runner. She took one more look at the list and began to run towards the Narakaza Shunki Center, which consisted of a cobblestone cul-de-sac on the outskirts of the park and city. It was going to be a long run.

She sprinted through the sidewalks full of bike riders, business people, and random crowds for about thirty or so minutes until she got to the park. She stopped sprinting and went into a jog, as she got closer to the small shopping center. She saw that the shop was rather busy and sighed; she hated trying to pass all of these people. She could always go through her secret spot. The only problem with her spot was that it would take her longer to get to the bakery then it normally would.

Tsukiakari sighed before pushing and maneuvering her way, politely, through the crowd, so that she could get to the bakery. The crowd, in turned parted for her with adult women whispering to their husbands that Tsukiakari was so cute and they wanted one. This was a common occurrence for her, but she still did not enjoy the attention, even if her mother did. Tsukiakari gracefully made her way through the crowd before she finally saw the bakery opening. She gave a breath of relief and walked into the small shop that had a small café attached to the side. The night was coming to a quick close and she did not want to feel the wrath of her mother's anger that her perfect child did not get what he 'deserved'.

Tsukiakari looked at the line of people in the bakery and contemplated what she should do. Whenever she helped her mom pick something up, she would get one of three responses. The first one that usually happens is that she would get in line and have the older women fawn over her until she got to the front and asked for the needed item. Most likely that would be what happened here. Although, the second scenario happens some times too, and that would be that she would get in line and then be ignored when she got to the cash register cause she was rather young. This would happen a few times when she went to a flower and chocolate store for her mother to give her father presents. Then there was the third and extremely rare scenario that would happen occasionally and that was she would have nothing wrong happen with no extra attention or anything. Tsukiakari sighed at her position and moved into the line.

The first scenario was obviously the one that happened as four, teen girls in front of her turned around and cooed at her. Tsukiakari grumbled to herself before pulling on her mask and smiling like the sweet and gentle child her mother told her to be. She was so frustrated with acting like she cared, but in the back of her mind, she knew she would obey her mothers strict orders about personal appearances for fear of the 'cabinet'. She shuddered internally as she imagined her mother finding out and stuffing her into the small, stale aired 'cabinet' for the night. Nope, she did not fancy that treatment a bit.

"You sweet thing! You are so beautiful!"

"What a precious little girl! Are you here on an errand for your Mamma?"

"How darling is she!"

Tsukiakari smiled and waited for the five young women to get over the fact she was not two as the line stayed at a stand still. Eventually, she felt eyes on her and took a quick peak around to encounter extremely deep, obsidian orbs. She blinked and then saw that the eyes were gone. Never having encountered such eyes before, she began to wonder whose eyes they were.

The teens soon turned towards the front after they noticed Tsukiakari was not looking towards them anymore. Tsukiakari immediately strained her ears to hear the 'gossip girls' conversation that began the instant they turned and looked.

"…That boy….goodness knows why he wants so much…"

"…three whole cakes?..."

"…his outfit….hand-me-downs most likely…"

"…He's a mess…"

Tsukiakari frowned in sympathy; these teens were as cruel and artificial as her mother was, though that was not that hard. Making fun of children that aren't what the adults want them to be, what is next? Them looking at their own children and reforming them as her mother did her. Tsukiakari sure hoped not.

"Is he wearing glasses?...block frames?"

"…looks twelve…"

"...most likely younger…"

"…he's awkward….foreign…"

Tsukiakari raised her eyebrows in shook as she heard the foreign bit. She had never seen a foreigner outside of her father's team of investigators at the police headquarters.

The women laughed and giggled to themselves.

"Look at the kid….can't even count the money."

"Poor old man…has to deal with the boy…."

Tsukiakari was now getting mad at the supposive 'young women'. Now they were just being plain nasty. Tsukiakari leaned around the rude girls to look at the poor boy that they were picking on. She let her eyes glance over the cashier, the kind Mr. Hachimitsu, as her focus landed on the figure in front of the counter. Her eyes widened in shock, as the paying figure was not what she expected.

Her well-trained eyes labeled two things wrong with the women's conversation. One, the child that was currently in front of them was not a boy, but a very boyish girl with boy clothes. It looked like she was trying to be a boy, as her posture was like that of one, and she seemed to use boy-like words. Two, **she **was actually about eight, Tsukiakari's own age. She watched the peculiar girl in fascination. The foreigner was indeed from out of the country, looking to be English, but seemed a bit too ragged for that. Maybe she was part American.

The boy-girl had beautifully untamed, black-silk hair and, as the girl turned to look out the window while she waited for her desserts, Tsukiakari could tell that the girl had almost pure obsidian eyes under thick, block framed glasses. They were the same eyes as those that stared at her from the earlier conversation.

'_Why did she even bother looking at me?'_ thought Tsukiakari, _'I know I am...cute…but she's a foreigner…maybe…she does that out of habit. Never mind, I'm just overanalyzing things again…'_

Tsukiakari looked over the girl's clothes noticing a large, white, short-sleeved T-shirt that was a bit bigger than her upper body, yet she did not seem to be swimming in it either, in fact, it rather suited her. For pants, she wore baggy grey sweats that hung off her waist in a slant, drawstrings drawn around her waist twice indicating that they were at least three sizes to big. On her feet were moccasin-like slippers that were fuzzy and a faint blue tint. A bulge from the side pocket was noticeable; a wallet and possible cell phone if the small rectangular shape beside it was suggesting.

Mr. Hachimitsu came back up supporting two paper bags with handles and held them out for the girl to take. The girl carefully grabbed the rather heavy looking bags and the girl said in a small, velvet voice, "Doumo arigatou gozaimashita."

Tsukiakari blinked at the politeness that came from the foreign girl.

Mr. Hachimitsu nodded his head and smiled at her politely.

"The topping bar and other utensils are to your left in the Café. There are take-out containers for you to put the toppings in. Have a good day Costumer-Sama."

The girl looked at him in surprise before bowing and heading over to the bar. Tsukiakari chuckled as she realized the girl was not accustomed to being called -Sama.

The young women in front of Tsukiakari ordered their drinks and gossiped more about the 'boy' that was at the topping bar. Tsukiakari sighed at their idiocy for they were talking about the 'boy' without restraint or hushed voices. The women began to talk trash to a point that it was practically verbal harassment. Tsukiakari noticed that the girl disliked what the girls were saying about her, but she would not speak up for herself.

'_She's not used to being around people,'_ thought Tsukiakari sadly.

Then, when the teens passed the girl, one of them bumped into her and caused her to knock over one of the topping containers onto the floor. Small candies scattered around the girl's feet and a few strays towards the door. Some of the women giggled. Tsukiakari was shocked at the purposively adult women who had the nerve to be so harsh towards a girl younger than ten. The girl blinked down at the mess on the floor before turning to gaze up at the women. The small bakery quickly grew quiet as they watched to see what happened next.

**SAMANTHA**

L pulled up into the parking lot of a relatively small condominium with only three floors and a penthouse. The only reason why it was so small is because there was only about five rooms a floor allowing for more space for cars, families, and a convenient elevator that went up to the penthouse. They had bought the top penthouse since it was a small town and L knew that they were not moving anytime soon. There was supposed to be furniture and other household items for their use inside, but L had wanted to save up as much money as he could.

Now, L took his time as he unlocked the inside door lock and then proceeded to unlock the outside one as well. They did not want another accident that they had earlier two years ago with Samantha trying to jump out of the car when it was still moving. This was one of her earlier attempts at running away. It obviously failed.

Samantha knew that if she were to get off her seat without her father, she would get into trouble. Therefore, instead of getting out, she had just opened the door and unlocked her seatbelt, still sitting in her seat. L stopped moving and looked at Samantha with a slightly narrowed stare. Samantha just shrugged and looked out of the open door, not moving an inch.

As L moved again, he grabbed Watari's wheelchair from the trunk, and pulled it over to Watari's door. Watari gracefully, well as graceful as an eighty-four year old his health could, transferred from the front seat of the car to the wheel chair next to the door. He thanked L and let him wrap the blanket around his lap and legs as so he would not get cold. L then handed Watari the book that was still on the seat and pushed him slightly out of the way of the door so that it would shut. Watari gladly took the book and set it back on his awaiting lap.

Samantha watched the scene in slight annoyance. She wanted to go explore the shopping center so badly, but the adult's were taking way to long! Samantha knew that Watari was old and that the pace they were going was relatively fast to what it used to be. It was just hard to deal with it since Samantha was anticipating the adventure so much!

"…antha!"

Samantha snapped out of her annoyed trance confused, but immediately got annoyed again. She opened her mouth to snap out at the yelling, but a huge wave of tiredness came over her, causing her to just not care. So instead, she just sighed dejected and looked up at her father with a blank expression.

"Listen," said L with an equally blank stare, "We need to go to the penthouse and get the rooms and ourselves settled."

"Afterwards, we will have lunch and then you can go out after my nap," said Watari.

Samantha blinked and nodded her head in confirmation before she yawned and stretched in her seat haphazardly. Immediately, she slumped in her seat and laid her head back, legs up on the seat like her father's would be.

"…Actually, a nap for you would be better," L muttered as he leaned in and picked up Samantha in a bridal hold.

Samantha did not even protest when picked up or placed on Watari's lap. She honestly did not care what happened now as she curled up in a ball on Watari's lap. Nothing really mattered at the moment as she fell asleep.

L pushed Watari and Samantha to the elevator and waited to get to the western style Penthouse. He moved through the elevator doors, picked up the sleeping Samantha form the lap of Watari, and placed her on the couch. L wanted to keep and eye on her as she slept, knowing that she would have another attack soon.

After her two-week depression attack, each time she slept in the day, she would start to cry and struggle in her sleep. It slowly got better and now she only struggles a bit. She has not cried since she was five. The medications she was taking were helping, but they can only do so much. She has not opened up to anyone. The specialist said that she might stay depressed for her entire life if she would not open to someone. L and Watari are truly trying to help her. Sadly unknown to L, he is one of the main reasons as to why she is depressed.

Within the morning hours, Samantha was able to stay asleep without much trouble. Only once did L have to calm her down with gentle hands and soothing words. Even then, he did not need to stay more than five minutes before she settled down again. L was able to get the place into working condition without to much problem. Everything was there when they came; the only thing that needed to be taken care of was setting up the electrical appliances and placing the food inside the pantry. All of this was done before noon, which meant that L could eat and wake up Samantha for lunch.

Samantha had actually woken up right after the nightmare she had and waited for her father to leave before she sat up on the arm of the couch with her legs spread out on only one of cushions and her head looking out the window at the corner. She thought about life and what not, she hoped that her adventure to the shopping center would be as 'fun' as Watari hoped. She did have her doubts though as she knew that she would have to deal with rude, artificial women and unscrupulous men. It was pathetic how much people care about their looks and their styles. It still hurt when they talked bad about her and her father when they go out on their VERY rare bakery stop. She then thought back to her gate experience and how frightened and caged she felt.

Samantha stayed like that until L came in to wake her up, but finding her awake, he came over to squat down in front of her with his usual, unusual, sitting position. Samantha continued to look out the window, eyes glazed over, and sadness slightly showing as she thought about her future and how planned it would most likely be with no help and someone controlling her the entire way.

"Hey…"

Samantha jumped and inhaled sharply as she snapped her shocked head towards her father. Her eyes were wide for a second before they went back down to normal size.

"Sorry," whispered Samantha as she did when she knew that she did something bad.

"Sorry is not the right word to use," whispered L as he gently rubbed Samantha on the cheek, "I have your medications if you want them now."

Samantha nodded as her father pulled her pill bottle out of his pocket and gave two to her. She opened her mouth, took each one at a time, and placed them on the back of her tongue before swallowing them without liquid. L patted her head as she breathed in deeply. Her face looked up at L with a sad expression.

"Come," said L lightly, "Watari and I made lunch."

L stood up and held out his hand to Samantha unusually. Samantha eyed the hand wearily, know that her father did not do 'touching.' It was a weird concept within its self, but it was not as if her father would ever hurt her. In fact the possibility of her getting tied down to a chair or put in a locked padded room with a key that locks from the inside is more likely to happen than her father hurting her (the things just mentioned would be what L would say "last case scenario if Samantha was to get hurt or hurt herself"). Well, maybe she would be hurt mentally, but never physically. Nonetheless, Samantha took his hand gingerly and stood up. L smiled his weird smile at her and dragged her to the table in the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen laid almost all of Samantha's favorite foods. This ranged from stacks of apples, strawberries, and bananas, to fried walleye fish, spaghetti, orange chicken, and various deserts. There was even salad, which, near L, was a miracle in itself. All of the food was stacked on a rather large island table that had low seats for Watari's wheelchair.

"This is a bit…" started Samantha as she took in the marvelous site worried since this was a good indication that something big, and most likely bad, for her was going to happen or be said.

"Much?" asked Watari with a smile, almost oblivious to the turmoil that was happening inside Samantha's mind.

"….yeah," whispered Samantha, taking in the scene with the outside appearance of uncaring, "not going to finish it all."

"No," said L whose eyes never once left Samantha, "Neither Watari nor I thought that we would. Most of this is to help with leftovers. With this, all we have to do is warm up the food instead of Watari and me cooking for hours a week to be able to eat ourselves and feed you."

Samantha tiredly tilted her head towards her father with obvious disbelief, knowing perfectly well that he _knew_ she could cook her own meals. Now she was certain something was up and by the smells of it, it was going to be time consuming. L looked down at her for a second and lightly pushed on her back to tell her to sit.

"I can cook…," muttered Samantha uncontrollably, sitting down with an unmannered plop and her cheek resting on the table as she decided she might as well look miserable now in preparation with the information. Her medicine would not kick in for another twenty-seven minutes anyway.

"Yes, you can," chimed Watari, "But we have something important to talk to you about."

Samantha sat there with her head on the table and her feet swinging, replying in her dry sarcasm, "Oh goody. I get to do something _fun_ and I know that I'm just going to _love it_."

She did not care what she did to either man's patience, she just wanted to get this over with and soon. For some reason, she was always irritated before her medicine took any effect. That could have escalated because she had to take it after sleeping and she was always cranky after getting up. She could feel the stare of her annoyed father burn into her scalp.

"You know I'm getting old and-" started Watari.

"And you thought that I could help my father by becoming what you are to him?" sighed out a frustrated Samantha as she interrupted her Grandfather quickly, "Grandpa, you aren't going to die soon. When you die, most likely I will be old enough to have kids."

'_Or be old enough to have left them already,'_ thought Samantha.

"Samantha," said L with a serious tone, "You are being tremendously discourteous at the moment and I know that Watari and I brought you up better than that."

Watari coughed lightly to interrupt L before he went any further, "You won't just be doing my job, Samantha; you will also be solving the cases that he doesn't take."

"Woo, I get to do meticulous things. Wow, how great it is to be able to do boring things the same boring way everyday," muttered Samantha practically incoherently.

Watari's fragile old ears could not make sense of it thankfully. L only caught a few words, but he was easily able to get the point.

"Being rude and insensitive will not allow you to go out," said L warningly.

Samantha stopped moving her feet and looked up at her father before looking away under the stare of her father's unsaid fury. She really wanted to go out and she knew that she would most likely explode form this talk if she was not allowed to go.

"…Fine," whispered Samantha grudgingly, "What do you propose?"

L nodded his head as an appreciative gesture for her as she finally speaks some sense.

Watari smiled at her pleasantly, "I will spend most of my time training you in the works of your father. During random interjections, your father will pull you out of your lesson with me and teach you different techniques and observational skills about a crime scene-"

'_What happens when I tell you that I want to be a doctor?'_ thought Samantha as she listened to Watari, but watched her father, '_I don't even like your work. I mean, I can handle the blood, but I hate the stories. I hate the work. I hate it all. The only thing that I have gained from your job is a tolerance for the stuff and keeping calm in tense situations.'_

"-and the monkey says moo."

"Why are you talking about a monkey?" asked Samantha as she turned to her Grandfather with a blank and bored stare.

Watari smiled gently and glanced over at L before speaking, "You were listening to me, good. I just thought that the glazed look in your eye said otherwise, but I believe that is actually the Lawliet in you."

"Watari," said L, "I would prefer for you to keep that name under lock and key. Even in situations like this one, the room could be bugged."

"Of course L, sorry," said Watari, "Anyway, you are your father's child Sam, don't forget that."

Samantha blinked at the nickname, very shocked. She looked up at her father who looked at her and nodded.

"Sam will imply that you are a boy," said L, "To be in this line of work, you must, at some point, have an alias created. As you know, I have three. One of which is actually a girl."

Samantha looked at him with complete and total disbelief and annoyance.

"So you will be a boy from this point on to all others, understood?"

It took Samantha a moment to let the new information sink in. She brought her hands to her face, entwined them, and leaned into them with her mouth hidden behind. This was a universal signal to both Watari and L that Samantha needed some time, so L sat beside her in his usual position and grabbed a piece of cake and ate.

'_Of course. Was there ever going to be freedom to be myself? None whatsoever. God in Heaven, help me now,'_ thought Samantha. She looked at the food display and realized that it must have been a sweetening to the things that were going to happen from here on out. It seemed that bribing was the only thing her father knew would help him in this situation.

'_Fine then, I will work with your plans, but first…from what I can tell, this bribe is going to need something better than food to make up for it,'_ Samantha thought while she tilted her head to the side to show that she had come to a conclusion.

"I'll…do it," said Samantha slowly and with some hesitation.

L stopped eating and looked at her with a grin, "Excellent."

"**However**-" L's face dropped as Samantha sat up straight in her seat and folded her arms looking slightly frustrated, "The food bribe may justify most of the job quirks, but no way in hell-"

"Language," barked L, as he seemingly got agitated. Samantha just continued as if nothing happened.

"-does it make up for the fact that I have to act like a **boy**," Samantha sounded offended by the word.

"So what," said L agitated, knowing she wanted fair trade offs, "do you propose we do then?"

"I'm _telling_ you that I will require two hours of free time a day-" L's eyes grew, "that is likely to change to any point in the day-" L's hands started to tremble, "and in this time, I will go where I want."

L sat in his chair with his entire body shaking and his head shaking from side to side looking at Samantha, "…30 minutes."

"Less?" asked Samantha arching a thin eyebrow, "An hour and 30 minutes isn't that bad. I'd still appreciate the full two hours, though."

"No," said L, his voice sharp with a growing intensity, "You will have 30 minutes to go outside on the steps and come right back in. That's as far from my unwatchful eyes as you will get."

"Oh no!" said Samantha solidly with disbelief, "There's no way that is even close to being a fair treatment!"

"In the words of Mello, 'Suck it up'," growled L uncharacteristically.

"Like I'd want to embrace your life style?"

"You will not disobey me!" said L fiercely.

"I will if it's unfair!" bit out Samantha.

"Samantha Elle!" growled L.

"NO! I demand a fair trade off!" yelled Samantha flinging her arms around as she did, "In liberty's sake-"

"YOU ARE NOT GETTING HURT AGAIN!" shouted L as he stood up and looked at Samantha who completely shut up and dropped her arms, "Not….again. You will stay safe. I don't want what happened to your…'mother'…to happen to you too."

Samantha looked at her father as he slumped back down into his seat, looking crescent fallen, with sad eyes, knowing that even though he was overprotective, he did have a reason. For one, he was not used to his emotions so his outbursts were to be expected. She also knew he had been hurt years before with someone else and having her hurt would probably destroy him, but she wanted this so much. If she could come out of the depression, then hopefully she could make him proud.

"Dad," whispered Samantha soothingly as she looked at her father, "I know you want to keep me safe and I realize that I will be killed if I say that I even know 'L' as mother did, but I have a right to at least go out. Yes, I was in harms way at the hospital, the men hanging over my crib with a gun. I was a baby then. You know as well as I do that I can defend myself rather well."

L looked at her, shaking his head, "You need to stay here with me to be safe…"

"Dad," said Samantha with her calming tone.

"L," said Watari gently, turning the scene in hopes to stop another shouting match, "I believe that Samantha will gladly allow you to take curtain precautions such as a thirty minutes walk from all angles and a limit of an hour. Right, Samantha."

Samantha paused for a split second with her father's eyes on her before she nodded, "Yes, I can accept that."

She knew that at this point, Watari's suggestion would be the best option in the current situation. She could actually see the headache start to form in L's head and stood up to the pantry door that she thought was the medicine cabinet. She took three pills from the aspirin container and placed two of them in front of L with a milkshake. She swallowed the other pill with a strawberry and then another strawberry and then a plate full. L watched his daughter eat the fruit and swallowed his pills. She was the only woman he had allowed to know him so well.

"…Alright," muttered L, "I will also accept those conditions, but you must keep up your side of the bargain."

"Of course, father," replied Samantha as she finished chewing her fruit plate, "I just need you to, too."

"Good," said Watari, pleased that the conflict was closed for now, "Then, Sam, I advise you to take out your contacts."

Samantha blinked at Watari, "…I assume that this is for my disguise as a male?"

"Yes," said Watari as he took something out of his suit pocket, "From now on, you will be wearing glasses instead of contacts and your clothes will look similar to your father. Most likely all the clothes will feel loose, but you will get used to it after a few days."

Watari handed a thick pair of old-fashioned rimmed glasses to Samantha, causing her to sigh at the ugly looking things.

"You will accompany Watari when he goes and gets necessary files for my cases," said L as he seemed to gain more assurance as he went, "He will explain what to look for, who to talk to, when you may and may not talk. Then, after you are through a good portion of your work, I will call for you and show you what you will need to be looking for and thinking about in certain fields, pictures, and possible scenarios."

"So basically, I will be learning what you taught Uncle Matt, Mello, and Near," said Samantha as she stood from her spot.

"Yes. You will begin training tomorrow," said L, completely back to normal.

"Now, though," chirped Watari, turning to face the standing Samantha, "You may go change into your new clothes which are already in your room and put on your glasses."

Samantha nodded and turned to walk towards her new room.

"When you are done, you will be free to go to the Narakaza Shunki Center with money to spend on whatever you like, as long as you come back with in the hour."

Samantha stopped and turned around to face her family. Both L and Watari were surprisingly shocked to see a small grin painted on her face.

"Thank you Watari…Dad," said Samantha as she whisked away to her room leaving Watari ecstatic and L relatively pleased.

*about 30 minutes later in Samantha's bathroom*

Samantha adjusted her new glasses on her face, allowing her annoying contacts to come out of her eyes. She looked at herself in the wall-to-wall counter mirror and huffed. She looked like a boy with absolutely no good taste in clothes. That, and Watari lied. The clothes were not just loose; they fell off her waist the moment she had first let go of them! She had essentially wrapped the drawstrings around her body twice before they did not totally fall off. The white T-shirt was also very big on her, but at least it had not fallen off her shoulders. She hoped she had fancier and less large clothing in her closet.

There was some truth in Watari's drabble. She was wearing similar clothing to her father, the clothes did match, and she actually felt used to them already. The clothing choice could have easily been better, but it looked like she wanted to go out on a run. Therefore, it was all right, not perfect, but better than looking like a total mess. Even though she knew that others would talk about her, it could be much worse.

Samantha glanced at the clock on the wall that read 3:00 before she turned and grabbed the pair of comfortable looking blue moccasins that Watari had bought her. She walked sluggishly out of her room, grabbing the new cell phone that lay on top of the bedside table. With it stuffed into her pocket, Samantha headed out the door to the living room where her small family sat waiting for her.

When she entered the room, Watari smiled at her and waved her over to him with a finger, "You will need this before you go."

He handed Samantha a young boy's leather wallet. She hesitantly grabbed it and peered into the crevice finding at least twenty thousand yen. Her eyes grew wide as she took in the ridiculous amount of money.

"What am I going to buy?" mumbled Samantha, "A large twenty pound chocolate bar?"

"Only if you share it," replied L, typing away on his laptop.

Watari chuckled and told Samantha, "You may use that money however you like, Sam. Just make sure that you stay in character. Is your new cell phone with you?"

Samantha grunted and stuffed the wallet into her pocket and patted her other one to show that she had the cell phone.

"Like that," stated L amused.

Watari chuckled, "Your Father's cell phone is coded into it as was your old one, and mine is the second."

Samantha bowed to her family and walked to the door before putting on her shoes.

"Sayonara Chichi. Sayonara Sofu."

Samantha was out the door before she got a response.

The walk was relatively simple and fast. She followed the signs to the center and got there within fifteen instead of the predicted twenty. The Narakaza Shunki Center was bustling and loud and surrounded by trees from the growing forest. There were quite a few random stores, a flower store, an accessory store, a small grocery, bakery café mix, liquor store, and an arcade. Since Samantha grew up with a sugar addict, she knew her stop would be the bakery café cause then it would mean that she could get something for her father to make up for the fight they had. Therefore, into the crowded area to get to the bakery café she went.

It took a bit of physical persuasion to get to the door, but Samantha got there with little trouble and found that the bakery was quiet and peaceful in the café area. She smiled, but remembered that she had an alias to go by now. She dropped her posture more, and thought of her dad as she walked up to the counter where a nice old man stood armed at the cash register. Then the door opened again and she heard multiple high heels click on the cold tiled floor.

'_Great,'_ thought Samantha, _'now I have to deal with provocative, gossiping women who most likely are as picky as the Americans.'_

"Hello," said the old man whose nametag read Mr. Hachimitsu, "What would you like today? We have a lovely spread of assorting cheesecakes this evening."

"No thanks," replied Samantha politely, "However, I would like to know about your sponge cakes."

Mr. Hachimitsu smiled at her and his eyes sparkled, "Well, today's special is honey apple with vanilla shavings and honey drizzle."

"That sounds delectable," Samantha said, "Do you happen to have any strawberry shortcake left today too?"

"If you give me a moment, I can go check?" asked Mr. Hachimitsu.

Samantha nodded, "That would be much appreciated."

Mr. Hachimitsu smiled and walked to the back. Samantha sighed heavily and heard the door open once again. This time, the sound was a light tap and almost dainty. Samantha listened intently to try to figure out what the specific noise was. To her, the sound was of a pair of children's shoes that could vaguely be someone her age or older. All of a sudden, the women started to fawn over the person that walked in.

"You sweet thing! You are so beautiful!"

"What a precious little girl! Are you here on an errand for your Mamma?"

"How darling is she!"

'_So the person's a girl,'_ thought Samantha as she turned around to look at the girl, _'She must be cute, and young, by the way the women are talking-'_

The sight floored Samantha. A girl, around her age, who had the same look as she did, was standing right behind her. That **same** look as she did. It was an interesting concept for someone else to have that guarded façade which she so desperately wanted to get rid of. Especially the same age as her. That same look that said suffocation was just around the corner. One that stated that if this goes on any further, death would be the only option left. The only difference was the eyes still held innocence.

The girl's eyes were a lovely hazel-honey comb with matching cages. Her smile was a glistening fake light with skin as smooth as when she was born. Yet it seemed as though she held strong through it all. Samantha felt sad as she saw defeat in her eyes and she so badly felt the urge to comfort the girl. To hold her close and allow her to break free from the chains that bounded her.

'_I should probably stop sneaking peeks at Uncle Mello's romance novels,'_ thought Samantha as she continued to stare, _'I'll send the books I took to storage, but keep the black willow series upstairs. Oh, Elizabeth and Damian, sex goddess and Adonis in one….Oh, crappers. I am turning into a bloody sap and I am not even a hormonal swamped teenager yet….Great.'_

Suddenly, the girl glanced to look straight into Samantha's own eyes. Samantha stared wide-eyed back before quickly turning back around to face the counter, hoping that the girl wouldn't freak out by her obvious staring. Samantha could have sworn that if it were not for the fact she was depressed, she would be blushing up a storm for being so rude as to stare at someone. On second thought, Samantha decided that it would be good to seem like it never happened. At any rate, Mr. Hachimitsu was coming back to the counter and the women finally caught sight of her. The second, she ignored.

"We have two full cakes left," said Mr. Hachimitsu, "would you like a piece?"

"I would actually like both of those cakes and one Honey Apple cake too please."

Mr. Hachimitsu smiled gleefully and then plugged in numbers to the computer, "Your total comes out to ¥7385.65."

Samantha nodded to him as she quickly tried to do the math the best she knew how. She pulled out some money and spread it out on the counter.

'_Ok…from yen to the dollar, it is 86.12….then from the dollar to pounds…55.45…which means that I'll need…,'_ thought Samantha as she shuffled around the money for Mr. Hachimitsu.

She made sure she grabbed the exact amount that she needed because it helped her go through the memorization of the money. She took longer than if she gave him a bigger bill, but practice makes perfect.

"I'll be right back with your cakes," said Mr. Hachimitsu as he handed Samantha her receipt.

Samantha sighed and looked to the right to stare out the windows of the Bakery Café. She watched as the mass of people moved back and forth talking about this and that, totally oblivious to the outside, focused on the here and now and their own things. They laughed, cried, and joked around, having fun or getting lost, not wanting to think, but thinking anyway. Most of the older adults got their minds off stressful things to go and spend time with their family.

"Here you go," said Mr. Hachimitsu, gaining Samantha's attention back to the counter.

"Doumo arigatou gozaimashita," Samantha replied gratefully as Mr. Hachimitsu handed the two paper bags full of cakes over to her.

Mr. Hachimitsu nodded his head and smiled at Samantha politely.

"The topping bar and other utensils are to your left in the Café. There are take-out containers for you to put the toppings in. Have a good day Costumer-Sama."

Samantha inwardly blanched at being called a master, as she hated imprisonment herself, outwardly; she just gave the act of surprise, nodded, and walked away. She groaned, again on the inside, as she heard the women continue to talk about her relentlessly. She nonetheless moved over and looked at the toppings spread out along the table at the end of the bakery side.

However, the women became exceptionally rude with their harsh words and she wanted them to stop so badly. She did not know what she could say to them to get them to stop, not with her social standings and lack of human interaction. So instead, she stabbed into the strawberries and spooned out some chocolate mouse with much vigor. She continued over to the cherries and the whipped cream, making sure she had placed them in their own containers for her and her family's enjoyment.

Once she got to the candy, one of the women came over and shoved her way right through Samantha's shoulder, causing her to drop all of the candy that was on her spoon and in the container. Samantha watched surprised and sadly as the candies fell onto the ground and scattered around her feet and on the floor.

Samantha looked up after watching the candies fall and gazed at the women who were so rude and cruel. Samantha could feel the stares of the customers and the employees watch her and she grimaced when she found that there was no good way out of this. So she sighed and decided that the best way to get out of this would be her Dad's way; straight to the point and uncaring.

Samantha turned her gaze into a glare.

"_Bitch._"

Samantha's eyes turned over to see the young girl standing by the counter glaring at the woman with her arms crossed and her eyes challenging. It would seem like someone beat her to it. She smirked.

**Note:** Yes. I know that I tend to drawl on Sammy a bit, but I think now, both Samantha and Tsukiakari will be able to have as much of an equal showing as possible. I will get them to speak in the same spots from here on with time going on and not going back (In other words, when I stop one, the other will continue where I left off.)

You are getting set up mostly via Sammy because Tsuki will be hurt more often in the story as it goes on! (FYI, this will eventually go to yuri/past-yaoi. And I bet you won't be able to guess who's the seme/uke in each situation –even though it's rather easy for me :DDD- :P)

One more thing. Most things that seem to be places are not. They are fictional places and in no way real. I disclaim Death Note and it's characters, but claim the children as I have said earlier in this chapter.

Thanks for reading!

Kira Kiwaseki

P.S. Reviews are welcome here. Do not feel as if it is a sin! Cookies are the reward after all!


	4. Getting to know you

Disclaimer: No Death Note ownage…..sorry.

Updates, as you can see, will be long, random, and take a while. I am sorry about that. I hope to make it up to you, my readers.

Samantha is now going to be called Sam or well…you'll find out. Tsukiakari is going to be called Tsuki, without any suffixes.

**Previously….**

_Once she got to the candy, one of the women came over and shoved her way right through Samantha's shoulder, causing her to drop all of the candy that was on her spoon and in the container. Samantha watched surprised and sadly as the candies fell onto the ground and scattered around her feet and on the floor._

_Samantha looked up after watching the candies fall and gazed at the women who were so rude and cruel. Samantha could feel the stares of the customers and the employees watch her and she grimaced when she found that there was no good way out of this. So she sighed and decided that the best way to get out of this would be her Dad's way; straight to the point and uncaring._

_Samantha turned her gaze into a glare._

_"__Bitch.__"_

_Samantha's eyes turned over to see the young girl standing by the counter glaring at the woman with her arms crossed and her eyes challenging. It would seem like someone beat her to it. She smirked._

**COMBINED VIEWS**

"What did you say?" asked the young woman –no, the girl– who bullied Sam.

"Well," interrupted Sam as she walked around the mess of candy to get closer to the lady, "You wouldn't be asking that question if you would pay attention in English class."

"Are you insulting me?" growled the girl.

"Obviously," said Sam bluntly, "Your deductive skills are pitiful."

"Your mom's pitiful," bit back the girl.

"That was totally lame," said Tsuki as she turned to ask the frozen Mr. Hachimitsu for a broom.

"Yes, that was 'lame' as you put it. Besides that fact though, yes mother was pitiful. However, she is dead and gone now so she's pointless to think about," sighed out Sam, "I never had to live with her abuse, but not everyone is that lucky."

"Are you implying that I am abused by my mother?" asked the girl, slightly taken aback by Sam's statement.

"Maybe not specifically your mother, but your father definitely has something going on in his head that is both sick and wrong," Sam stated as she tilted her head to the side, "Your sudden smartness makes me worry, though. It's not healthy to be so flamboyantly bipolar."

Sam left the girl speechless and scarlet faced with embarrassment and anger. In the time that it took for the rude girl to shut her mouth, Mr. Hachimitsu handed Tsuki a broom. Tsuki in turn started sweeping up the candy, gently cutting through the girl and her group.

_'If I can get close enough to the girls without being noticed, I can get their Id's …' _thought Tsuki, as she stealthily pickpocket the girls.

Sam noticed her gracefulness as she repeatedly switched her lead hand on the broom. It was almost as if she was dancing to music.

"Get out of here you brat," spat one of the girl's as she noticed Tsuki spend more time on her sweeping near her.

Tsuki chose to ignore her and went on her merry way with sweeping in her unusual fashion around her. The girl got angry with her.

"I said get out of here!" the girl backhanded Tsuki in the face.

Tsuki was not expecting that at all and lost her balance as she got the girl's id into her pocket. She slammed onto the tilted ground and whimpered as she landed on her bruised side, making it sting profusely. The backpack on her back helping to intensify the pain she felt. Just because she did not have any new bruises, did not mean that the old ones didn't hurt like hell. Sam's eyes widened as she raced over to help Tsuki as she lost her breath in pain.

"Ladies!" called Mr. Hachimitsu, "I demand that you give me your id's and get out of my bakery or I'll be forced to call the police!"

"Shut it old geezer," bit back the group of girls that seriously had superiority problems.

Mr. Hachimitsu stuttered silently at the dishonorable language. He couldn't really help the situation other than calling the cops, but he knew Tsuki's basic background and didn't want to hurt her anymore then she'd all ready been. All he could do was wait to see how things would play out.

"I'd ad-advise y-you to get o-out while you sti-still can," wheezed out Tsuki as Sam tried to sit her up a bit without touching her sides too much.

The groups of girls smirked at the two on the floor with obvious bravado while the leader –the one that started the whole thing– spoke, "How so? As I can see, you are the ones that seem to be in the bind here, not us. You don't even know who we are and this bakery doesn't have cameras."

Sam looked around the bakery and saw that it was true, there were absolutely no security cameras in this bakery. Sam knew the only way these girls could be accused was if someone had either video recorded them fighting, which was highly unlikely as since there were only about five other people in here, or Sam was able to get a hold of the girl's ids. Tsuki put out her hand to Sam, causing Sam to frown as she took the items in Tsuki's hand. She looked at the items and laughed, well, as good a laugh as her depressed rehab state could allow.

"It seems that someone is one step ahead of me," whispered Sam to Tsuki who grinned up at her weakly, before she turned to the teens with a stare.

"What's that look for?" growled the leader.

"Look?" asked Sam, "What look? All I'm doing is looking at your deceitful, impure face. But I do admit-" Sam flashed a card, "That your looks don't give your id picture justice, Tamika Izaowa, high school student at Tokyo supplementary high, sixteen years of age."

The group of girls paled and took a faulty step backwards.

"Nor does the faces of," she flashed each card, "Yuki Mari, Chihiro Tengai, Kai Hachamina, and Mitsumi Kiowa."

The girls had no clue what to do or say. They knew that two little kids that had minds of adults busted them. It frustrated them to no end. However, Chihiro had something up her sleeve that she had not thought of.

"Tsukiakari Yagami-chan?" asked Chihiro.

Sam was able to get Tsuki on her feet before Tsuki turned to look at Chihiro in fright. She knew what was going to happen once she heard Chihiro's name read off the ID card.

"Do you think my boyfriend is going to like this?"

Sam watched Tsuki pale, gripping her hands tightly around Sam's sleeve. Chihiro smirked.

"I didn't think so. Yukio-kun doesn't like it when I'm threatened."

Sam's eyes narrowed and looked at Tsuki for an answer. Tsuki winced as Sam looked at her, but only because she couldn't say what the girl was about to say next.

"What his he going to do when he finds out his imoto-chan hurt me. Or maybe what is your mother going to do?"

Sam's eyes flashed as Tsuki broke down.

"No! Please! I beg you! Don't bring them into this!" screamed Tsuki.

Chihiro smiled as the rest of the group smirked. They were about to say something when sirens and screeching of tire wheels could be heard. Police were in to take care of the situation. The groups of girls were enraged, but the entire time Chihiro just stared at Tsuki with a smirk. Tsuki knew that her life was doomed the moment she went home.

Sam was confused, but she could see that Tsuki was defiantly an abused child. From what she could conclude, Tsuki's home life was bad and she was ignored. Sam saw the look of hopelessness and obvious encasement, something that she was well accustomed to in her own life. However, Sam knew that her own life at home was better than Tsuki's hands down.

Both Tsuki and Sam watched as the girls were towed away from the bakery in the police cruisers. Tsuki's eyes lingering the longest. It was now quite and peaceful, but the bakery was a mess, and as Sam sighed, Tsuki surveyed the damage.

"…Sorry, Mr. Hachimitsu," said Tsuki suddenly, sadly.

Mr. Hachimistu smiled at Tsuki kindly and walked around the counter towards Sam and Tsuki, "Nonsense, Tsuki-chan. It's the young ladies that were at fault here."

Tsuki turned her head to face Mr. Hachimitsu, "Still, I am sorry for the mess; I'll gladly help you clean it."

"As will I," said Sam surprising Tsuki and Mr. Hachimitsu, "After all, I did create the mess on the floor."

"Thank you," said Mr. Hachimitsu with a smile, "and Tsuki-chan, remember, this place isn't much, but you can call it home every once and a while."

Tsuki smiled sadly, but thankfully, "Thanks so much."

"Oh pish-posh," waved off Mr. Hachimitsu, "the money you've gained today for helping me is more then enough. Just wait until you start to actually work here and you'll be fine."

Tsuki giggled and finally smiled happily. Sam looked over at Tsuki and bowed at Mr. Hachimistu. She quickly looked up at the clock (it read 3:58, she still had half-an-hour left after leaving her new home at 3:30) before starting towards the counter.

"So," said Sam, "Where's the mop?"

Sam helped Tsuki clean up the floor and put all the unwanted grim into the garbage while Mr. Hachimitsu went around and apologized to the few guest that watched the speculation. The police had come back to the scene to help Mr. Hachimitsu file a report and to get some background on the misdoings. A news reporter followed soon behind, wanting to get the story for the paper. Sam had said she was going to the bathroom and came out after the police and reporter were gone. Tsuki did not ask why.

"Well, that was interesting," muttered Sam as she got out of the bathroom.

"It could be worse?" Tsuki shrugged.

"How?"

"Could have been our parents," said Tsuki as she laughed.

Sam grinned slightly. Tsuki smiled back.

"So what now?" asked Sam.

"Introductions?...Hi, I am Tsukiakari Yagami," said Tsuki.

Sam nodded, "Hello, I am-"

Sam stopped and quickly looked around at the people still in the bakery, "Um…Can we grab our things and go somewhere more…private, perhaps?"

Tsuki gave Sam a confused look before smiling and saying, "Sure, just follow me, I know the perfect place."

Sam bowed her head and Tsuki grabbed her hand before they grabbed their things, said goodbye to Mr. Hachimitsu, and headed out the door. Tsuki looked around the edge of the Center before quickly finding the old shed near the bakery and walked towards it.

"Hold this please," said Tsuki as she handed Sam the cake she was carrying.

"A shed?" asked Sam as she held the box along with her own.

"Nope," said Tsuki as she quickly grabbed the edge of a bush and walked through the small opening of the fence (1), "Something better."

"Something better inside the fence? Isn't that illegal?" Sam asked.

Tsuki giggled at Sam, causing her to blush, as much as her body could allow, as she realized how stupid the question was (1.5). Sam handed Tsuki her cake back, following her as she walked through the bush. Tsuki grabbed hold of Sam's hand again once they were inside the forest. Sam stared at her head, hoping silently that she had made a friend for once in her life. Tsuki was hoping for the same thing.

"Do you like pandas?" asked Tsuki.

"Hmm?"

"You're staring at my panda earrings," said Tsuki, "So I was wondering if your favorite animal was a panda, like mine."

"Oh, no, not really," said Sam clipped, "I don't have a favorite animal."

"No favorite animal?" asked Tsuki shocked, "Are you someone that doesn't have any favorites?"

"No, I still have favorites. I love strawberries and lemons, for example."

"Nice, apples and cinnamon are my favorite."

"Cinnamon isn't a fruit."

"Yeah, I know."

"*snort* nice."

"Well you don't like Pandas, so I believe that I have every right to say that I like cinnamon."

"For your information, I love pandas, but I can't really choose a favorite because I love all animals that are black and white."

"Wow...me too."

Tsuki giggled before smiling back at Sam. Tsuki turned right off the path a bit as they reached their destination. Sam was shocked. The one place that seemed to be Tsuki's spot happened to be a forgotten playground. There was a slide and fortress, a small two-swing swing set, a sandbox, and a child's climbing snake by a huge Sakura Tree. It spread out to fill the small opening in the forest, with a worn and weedy pathway heading out in the opposite direction from the Shopping Center towards the city. Sam stared at it in awe, but the most peculiar and amazing thing was the fortress. That was where Tsuki led them.

The fortress, one of those that you would find at a Zoo, looked like a dome with a upper level, lower level, and a hidden dug out, standing at least fourteen feet tall. The upper level had a slide wide enough for three children to slide down at once and a look out window that had perfect line of sight of the worn out pathway. The roof of the level was a hemispheric dome shape that went well beyond the borders of the foundation which helped with water damage.

The lower level had a roomy feel to it startiing with a small door that helped insulate the room. A small table, two chairs, and a love seat, all of which looked old and ragged, sat crowded on the lower floor to make room for the staircase to the top. There were many books lying on and around the table underneath the clock, some looking untouched for ages, others looking well loved.

Then, there was the hidden dug out underneath the slide, covered with a pull door which stopped the rain from coming in. inside was a large futon that covered the soft earth floor, a small lantern hanging from the ceiling, and an unused rack on the side. Tsuki brought Sam into the lower level after setting her things down and motioning for Sam to do the same.

"Do you like it?" asked Tsuki as she sat in the love-seat and patted the spot next to her for Sam to sit.

"It's fantastic," said Sam observing the seat carefully before sitting.

"Thank you…," replied Tsuki implying the missing name.

"I am Sam," _'Better keep that clean for a while, just in case….'_

"Sam…?"

"Just Sam."

"Ok, Sammy-chan, have it your way," said Tsuki, not wanting to push her away.

"How'd you find this place Tsuki?"

Tsuki blushed profusely as Sam said her nickname without a suffix, "U-um, Mr. Hachimistu said that when he was young, he used to play at a park inside the forest. I-I came looking for it when he said that I could find some shelter."

"From what?" Sam was interested to know.

Tsuki's face fell before she answered, "From home."

Sam frowned, "Abusive father?"

"No! Daddy is the only one who-" she paused, "No. It's my mother and brother…."

"I see," Sam said thinking.

"Why do you think it's my father?"

"…because of mine. I'm forced to do what he wants, no choice," said Sam, curling into a ball as she lifted her knees.

"Ah," muttered Tsuki as she swung her feet and chewed on the side of her mouth, "I can…understand how that feels."

"Ha," weakly sneered Sam, "How do you? I've had depression since I was four. I constantly feel trapped, abused-"

"-and used until your dying breathe is done?" finished Tsuki as she slumped her head, "Yeah, Sammy-chan…I know those feelings all so well."

Sam growled low, "Why does life have to be so planned out? I have to do everything my father tells me. Study, read, solve complex puzzles, take notes of his interviews, and soon, I will have to top it all off with actually spending every waking moment working for him. During my grace period, I'm stuck inside for three to six hours at a time doing pointless tasks to keep me from cutting myself again."

"At least what you're getting, you can control whether or not you're punished," said Tsuki her voice rising, "At my house I can just look at a fly the wrong way and get shoved into that cursed, stale pantry without food. My brother drinks constantly and beats me to a bloody pulp until he's pleased. Sometimes, it is all of his friends beating me too. My mother only encourages his behavior, taking her turn at abusing me mentally by shoving task after task down my throat. I cannot tell daddy either. The last time I did, I ended up with a switchblade at my throat and no food for a week that I did not have to find myself outside of that hellhole! I wish I could go with daddy to work, but he's always working on the next big case and has to work a ton of overtime!"

Sam stared at Tsuki as she screamed at the end, tears of frustration pouring down her face. Tsuki had her hands covering her face, attempting to force back her sobs that tore through her throat. She fell to the side, burying her head on Sam's shoulder. Sam tensed up, but didn't move to shake Tsuki off. Eventually, Sam relaxed as Tsuki's sobs turned to loud crying.

"…Well," whispered a choked up Sam, "As my Uncle Matt says, 'take what you can get out of life, but allow your player to lose it's last heart first before you curse at the stupid thing and swear upon killing the mother fucking psp by throwing it out a window'…"

Sam felt a small vibration on her shoulder as Tsuki chocked out a weak laugh, "What does that even mean?"

Sam shrugged, "Not sure, he was too busy throwing his psp out the window of the hotel and cursing at his stupidity for losing that heart in the first place."

Tsuki laughed again as she sat up and wiped her eyes. She leaned back in her seat and sighed. Sam turned her body towards Tsuki, leaning her back against the arm of the chair.

"Our lives are pretty screwed over, huh," whispered Tsuki.

"Yes," sighed Sam, "immensely."

"I feel as though I'm a melodramatic teenager and I only turn eight tomorrow," whispered Tsuki.

"…"

"Sammy-chan?"

At that moment, Sam froze solid.

"Wait, what?"

"Ummm…," Tsuki gave Sam a confused look, "I feel melodramatic?"

"No, no, the other thing," said Sam hurriedly.

"…I turn eight tomorrow?"

Sam's eyes got wide and she slowly turned away from Tsuki, staring at the wall in disbelief.

"…Sammy-chan?"

"….-as mine…," mumbled Sam.

"Say that again?" asked Tsuki, "But louder."

"Your birthday is the same day as mine," said Sam.

"Oh," said Tsuki blankly, then her eyes got wide, "OH."

"Yeah, I'm turning eight tomorrow too," Sam said.

Tsuki giggled before she looked up at the clock and gasped, "…Oh Kami."

"What-" asked Sam before her eyes also landed on the clock, _"…Oh bloody Hell."_

"I'm so dead," Both girls said staring wide-eyed at each other.

Tsuki stood up frantically, "If I'm not home in seven minutes, I'm never going to get dinner done in time!"

It always took one and a half hours to create the dish she wanted to make for dinner cause it was her father's favorite dinner and with the time reading 4:23, that could easily cause a damper in that plan.

"Father's not going to be happy with me," muttered Sam as she grabbed her cake and started out the door of the hid out, "Bye Tsuki-chan."

"W-wait a moment Sammy-chan-" Tsuki-chan tripped over her feet while slipping on her backpack and grabbed her cake before running after Sam, "Let's grab a taxi! I have one of them on speed dial!"

Sam slowed her fast walk just enough for Tsuki to catch up, "Is he fast?"

Tsuki jogged to keep up with Sam's fast speed, "Illegally so."

"Good, then call or obviously, we'll both be dead," muttered Sam again stricken with the fear of the consequences of her FIRST day out, not seeming to hear the illegal part of that conversation…

Tsuki nodded and fumbled to get her cell phone out, maneuvering the cake into one hand so she could reach her backpack. Her call was quick, only stating their location, before she started to practically sprint to the edge of the forest. Her free hand shoved the phone in her pocket before gripping onto Sam's hand. Sam was so frantic that she almost didn't care that Tsuki grabbed her hand. However, once she did, it was tough work not to slink back from the contact of an acquaintance, no matter how alike they may seem.

Eventually, they got past the fence and forest to run towards a taxi on the corner of the Narakaza Shunki Center. It was an unusual taxi, considering its color was equivalent to that of a neon pumpkin. The owner of that taxi fit perfectly with the unique vehicle. His hair was flamboyantly made to spike in the front, curl in the back, and looks the same shade of color as the taxi. The style he wore was punk and he must have been at most nineteen to look like that.

"Eh-yo Tsukiakari-chan!" shouted the taxi driver as he waved his arm out the window.

"Hello, Hachimitsu-san," cried Tsuki as she shoved her and Sam into the car.

"I ain't my grandpa kid, I thought I told ya to call me Satoshi," chirped Satoshi Hachimitsu, happily.

"Satoshi-kun," Tsuki said without care, "Can you get us to our places in less than two minutes? that why y'all called?"

Sam, who had been slightly shocked to hear the two's connection, didn't realize that Tsuki was staring at her expectantly.

"Oh…umm, Yukita street, Poli-Condominiums," blinked Sam.

Satoshi whistled, "Dang, you kiddo have butt-loads of money ey? Your pa must rake in the bucks."

Sam looked out the window, rolling her eyes as Satoshi finished, "But t'aint my business, mate, that stuff. Tis a good thing that ya live close. Take just a moment."

Satoshi immediately kicked the taxi to life and pulled out recklessly.

"Don't worry," whispered Tsuki shyly, "He may seem reckless, but he will always protect us and get us home before we ever get into trouble."

"….Can we…meet again?" wondered Sam, equally as shy.

For once, Tsuki smiled hopefully, "…Tomorrow at 3:00 in Mr. Hachimitsu's bakery."

"I'll be there…," said Sam as Satoshi slide in front of her place, "See you tomorrow…happy early birthday."

"Bye Sammy-chan."

Sam quickly sat down an ¥1,000, grabbed her cakes, and got out to rush into her house, but not before hearing...

"So who's he Tsukiakari-chan?" asked Satoshi.

"…A friend," smiled Tsuki, "Now home before I'm in trouble too."

"Ya got it kid."

With that the car sped away to give Tsuki a chance to get the food ready for the time her mother arrived to take the credit.

Sam smiled and ran into the elevator, keyed in the password to the house, and stepped in to her father and Grandpa sitting at the computer, exiting out of one of the confidential files that she wasn't allowed to see, but saw anyway.

"Welcome back."

Tsuki's arrival was a bit less…welcoming.

-1- There is an electric fence that surrounds the forest to keep the children from getting lost. -1.5- However, for those of you who don't quite understand the stupidity of the question, which I understand, cause I haven't told you yet/ I didn't really mention, is that you are allowed inside the fences according to law as long as there is no "Private property, do not pass" signs on them.

A/N: So, I'm not fast and I apologize, but I hope you enjoy and review.

Sincerely,

Kira Kiwaseki


	5. Families hidden behind lies

'_This is thought bubble'_

"This is speaking"

"_This is English"_

**Previously… **

"_So who's he Tsukiakari-chan?" asked Satoshi._

_ "…A friend," smiled Tsuki, "Now home before I'm in trouble too."_

_ "Ya got it kid."_

_ With that the car sped away to give Tsuki a chance to get the food ready for the time her mother arrived to take the credit._

_ Sam smiled and ran into the elevator, keyed in the password to the house, and stepped in to her father and Grandpa sitting at the computer, exiting out of one of the confidential files that she was not allowed seeing._

_ "Welcome back."_

_ Tsuki's arrival was a bit less…welcoming._

**TSUKIAKARI**

Tsuki got back to her house with barely any time to spare.

"Thanks Satoshi-kun," said Tsuki as she rushed out of the taxi, grabbing her wallet, "And nice cover, by the way."

"No problem Tsukiakari-chan," said Satoshi, "I've gotten better with the accent, don'tca think? And you don't have to pay since you're friend already took care of the tab."

"Thanks again!" smiled Tsuki as she raced to her house, "Next time, play up the gangster more!"

"I will! Sayonara Tsukiakari-chan!" with that Satoshi sped off without a second glance.

Tsuki dashed into her house and immediately she was bombarded by her brother and his friends. She breathed in deeply as they hovered over her dauntingly while she took off her shoes and put on her indoor slippers.

"Well, if it isn't my little fucked up bitch child of a sister," sneered Yukio, "Welcome back."

"Hello, Yukio-onii-chan," gulped Tsuki, _'He wasn't supposed to be back until 5:30. I pray to Kami that he hasn't found out about Chihiro…'_

"You want to now what I've heard, bitch child," asked Yukio snidely, "Apparently, Chihiro-chan was arrested today along with my friends' girls."

_'I'm dead…'_ thought Tsuki as she let out a little whimper causing the glaring boys to sneer down at her more.

"So what does my little fuck sister have to say to that?" growled Yukio.

Tsuki stared wide-eyed up at Yukio before he slapped her check, "I thought as much."

Tsuki held the side of her face in pain as Yukio's friends grabbed her and dragged her to the living room, luckily leaving the cake and her backpack near the umbrella stand. Yukio's friends shoved her to the floor and she muffled her scream as a foot collided with her stomach. In less then two seconds, her body screamed in pain as kicks were dealt to her back and chest. Her cries of pain choked her as she tried to keep them down. Living with her brother for so long, she found that the less she screamed, the less she was hurt. Suddenly a hand grabbed her hair and brought her bruising face up.

"If we ever fucking find that you do something screwed up like this again, your whore ass is ours. Understood bitch child?" asked Yukio.

"Y-y…yes, Y-Yukio-onii-ch-chan," croaked out Tsuki, tears streaming down her face.

Yukio dropped her face with a 'thunk' and stood up to his friends, "Let's get out of here."

Yukio's friends followed him away from Tsuki, "I'll be back later with Mom, bitch child, since her car broke down. Make sure that you don't screw over the food while I'm away."

When they were out the door and the sound of an engine roaring to life reached Tsuki's ears, she knew it was safe to get up. She tenderly stood on wobbly legs, trying to stop the tears from her eyes before she limped over to the umbrella rack at the front door to grab the cake and her backpack. She stepped unsteadily across the living room, placing her bag down on one of the kitchen table chairs and the cake in the bottom of the fridge to keep it from spoiling.

Ignoring the pain from her recent injuries, she set to work on dinner, hoping to get back the wasted time. The ingredients to dinner were on the top shelf of the fridge, so Tsuki grabbed them as she shut the door to the fridge. The ingredients were to a dinner of meaty Yosenabe, or hot pot. Despite the fact that she would not get credit for making dinner, Tsuki smiled at the idea of her father's face when he saw that his favorite dish was sitting on the table.

Tsuki turned onto the cabinets to grab the needed chopping board, Stockpot, and Nabe pot. She was at least happy that her garden provided fresh ingredients and the thought of her mother getting them made her cringe in disgust. Since the food was mostly waiting on things to soak and boil, Tsuki could bandage her injuries as she went. Tsuki sighed and began to work on dinner, starting with the necessary dashi. She added something here, put something there, wrapped something on her body every now and then, and after about an hour and fifteen minutes, Tsuki was done with her part of dinner. She was thankfully bandaged up in time for her brother to appear with their mother.

"Tsuki! Oh Tsuki-chan!" called Misa sweetly, oddly in a good mood, "Is Light-kun going to be impressed with Misa-Misa's cooking?"

"Of course mother," replied Tsuki in relief of not being hit by her too.

That was one of the many good things about her father coming home, her mother always was sweeter, if not annoying as hell. That and her brother had to be nicer to her too. Speaking of him, he was currently getting comfortable on the couch, turning on the TV to some vulgar, inappropriate channel.

"Now go somewhere else, young lady, so that Mama can get dressed in Light-kun's favorite Maid outfit," giggled Misa excitedly.

Tsuki sighed and nodded, knowing very well that her father did not enjoy her mother's outfits at all. The way her mother was, Tsuki was worried she might end up like her one day. She shuddered at the thought, it would be not only unpleasant, but a big pain in the butt. Therefore, not wanting to dwell on that thought, Tsuki opted to go to the dining room to work on her homework, which took her only ten minutes to do. She had great timing because a car pulled into the driveway and then the door to the house opened softly. Quickly, Tsuki pushed her homework into her backpack and shoved it into the corner of the room.

Tsuki peaked out of the dining room and saw her father tiredly slipping off his shoes and putting on his slippers. Light Yagami was defiantly a handsome man. Even in his 30's he still resembled his 18-year-old self immensely. He is a bit taller, and has barely noticeable wrinkles under his eyes, but is still as lean and has the same (well, almost) flawless skin. His hair reaches his shoulders, usually pulled into a small ponytail like now. His face always held a small bit of frustration and loneliness, almost emptiness, when he came home from work.

Tsuki watched slightly fascinated as her father looked up to see her stare at him timidly. She blushed and smiled shyly, acting like the (almost) eight-year-old she was. That was another thing she loved about her father coming home; she could act like a normal kid in front of him.

Tsuki waited to see what he would do next and was surprised as his hardened, empty face became brighter, but softer at her smile. Tsuki bounced happily on the tips of her feet, making her unknowingly cuter. She was happy that her father was home. He stood up, walked over to her, and squatted down to her height, ignoring his briefcase near the umbrella stand.

"Hello _Moon_," whispered Light, using Tsuki's pet name, "How's my girl?"

Tsuki rocked on her feet smiling up at him in the biggest smile she could muster, "…Daddy."

That was the only reply and warning she gave before she glomped him and buried her face in his chest. Tsuki's father hugged her back in his gentle arms, petting her hair soothingly. She was always going to be his, and his alone, nothing was going to take that away. Tsuki knew and treasured the fact that she is his reason and that she's one of the only two honored enough to have his love.

"Welcome home, daddy," whispered Tsuki.

"It's good to see you too," replied Light kissing the top of her head.

He never thought of this house as a home, so that is his typical reply. Normally, it would be Tsuki's welcome, but her father was her home.

Tsuki giggled. Her father's mouth twitched up in the slightest of grins, but never did he smile. He never smiles anymore. He picked her up as he went to grab his briefcase, causing her to squeal happily. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in the spot between her father's neck and shoulder and sighed happily, it was always a good thing for him to be home.

"Love you daddy," cooed Tsuki.

"Love you too, _Moon_," whispered back Light, his face turning back into that empty and cold mask as he placed Tsuki back on her feet, now holding his briefcase.

Tsuki whined at that, but it was barely audible, so her father only rubbed her head shortly and walked into the living room. Tsuki followed close behind gripping his pant leg loosely in her hands.

Tsuki's father walked in to see that Yukio was now sitting up properly and watching the news. Tsuki obediently followed him, glaring at Yukio mentally for being the bastard he was.

"Hello, Yukio."

The response was clipped, as if Tsuki's father was talking to a colleague and not his sixteen-year-old son. His voice was hardened. Tsuki knew that their relationship was bad, but Yukio never seemed to notice the tension.

"Hello, father," replied Yukio politely, if not the same clipped voice, not used to the formalities.

"Light-kun!" screamed Misa happily from the kitchen, "Your sexy thing of a wife made yummy hot pot! So move your handsome self to the dining room to enjoy Misa-Misa's love!"

Tsuki could feel her father's shudder involuntarily. Tsuki buried her face in his pant leg and squeezed it in comfort. He squeezed her back before reluctantly prying off Tsuki's fingers and grabbed her hand in his. She gripped it as if is was a lifeline and smiled up at him whilst they walked to the dinning room. The briefcase was placed on the living room's side table as they went.

"And Tsukiakari darling?" asked Misa, "Could you help mommy by setting the table?"

"Yes, mother," replied Tsuki, reluctantly pulling away from her father with a sad smile and went to the kitchen.

She walked in to see her mother wearing a slutty looking maid's outfit, looking slight disheveled. Tsuki's mother was leaning over the hot pot, adding leeks to it. Tsuki almost cried at the sight, since she hated leeks to the point that she swore she was allergic to them. Her mother finished adding them and turned to stare at Tsuki haughtily.

"You make sure that you are not a nuisance tonight, got that?" growled Misa.

"Yes mother," replied Tsuki, "I'll behave."

"Good," said Misa, "And who gets credit for dinner?"

"You do, mother," replied Tsuki emotionlessly.

"And the cake?"

"The sticker is torn off, mother," replied Tsuki again.

"Then set the table and help me take the food out," demanded Misa angrily before turning to the food and sang, "Mama made a mean dish tonight."

Tsuki grabbed four plates, four sets of chopsticks, and four napkins before going to the dinning room. Tsuki's father and Yukio were already sitting at the table, talking formally about grades and work. Tsuki just ignored them and set the table properly before asking what Yukio and her father would like to drink.

"I'd like water, please," requested Light.

"Warm tea with a cube of sugar," Yukio said with Tsuki ignoring the slight demanding tone he permitted his voice to take before adding reluctantly, "Please."

Tsuki bowed slightly before going into the kitchen to prepare the drinks and ask her mother what she wanted.

"Red Lace Wine," shot Misa mindlessly.

Tsuki poured the drinks into their proper containers and brought them out on a tray, placing the drinks down in front of their respective person. She put her own glass of milk down last and returned the tray back to the kitchen before helping her mother take out the pot of food to the table. When they reached the table, Tsuki sat down at her spot hurriedly to get out of the way of her mother. She then waited and observed the scene noticing happily the difference between when her father was home and when her father was still at work.

Usually, Yukio sits at the head of the table when her father is not at home. Then, her mother would sit on the other side of the table. This left Tsuki to make and serve the food before she could eat in the kitchen. However, when Tsuki's father is home, he sits at the head, her mother is in the same spot, but serves the food, Yukio sits on the side and Tsuki can sit on the other side. It was always a joy to not be treated as a dog.

"Misa-Misa's Heart filled love food is served!" Misa said as she brought the steaming Yosenabe hot pot to Light's side of the table and served it straight to Light.

Tsuki watched expectantly as her father's eyes gleamed unnoticeably by an untrained eye before turning dull again. Tsuki smiled in relief and giddiness. Her father looked like he was going to enjoy eating the food she prepared. Now she felt content with the day. Between having found a new friend that she could finally relate to and then having her father come home (to even be there for her birthday tomorrow!), Tsuki could see a silver lining in the chilling storm. Tsuki's mother sat down, dishing food onto her plate and began eating, oblivious to anything besides herself and Tsuki's father.

"How yummy!" giggled Misa happily, "Misa-Misa thinks Light-kun is going to enjoy dinner very much!"

Tsuki watched as her father looked blankly at her mother. Obviously, he was put off by her indecent behavior and lack of proper manners at the table. Yukio ignored Tsuki and the others and just grabbed his food to place it on his plate, muttering his Itadakimasu, before eating. Tsuki watched her father grow angry and tense. His eyes narrowed, but he said nothing and slowly, but sternly, grabbed for Tsuki's plate.

"How much would you like, Tsukiakari?" Light asked emotionlessly.

The two other occupants of the table stopped eating and stared.

Tsuki bit her bottom lip. Her normal ration of food that she was allowed was usually less then a serving. She was always hungry afterwards and her stomach would throb in pain slightly. However, as Tsuki looked at her mother and brother, she knew that she had to ask for that or else she would be in trouble when her father left.

"Just a little, daddy. Please and thank you," said Tsuki shyly, unsure if her mother would hit her or not.

"You can eat more then that can't you?" asked Light as he raised an eyebrow at Tsuki.

Tsuki blushed but did not say anything in return, knowing fully well that her mother and brother were staring repulsively at her.

Light sighed, "If you can't eat it all, that's alright. Just eat what you can."

Tsuki nodded her head in understanding as her father made a plate full of food that she knew was more then her undernourished stomach could hold. Her father even took out the leeks on her plate and put them on his own. Tsuki heard a small squeak of disgust from her mother. Tsuki's mother had put them in there for a reason and Tsuki knew that it was for her to eat.

The plate soon landed in front of Tsuki and her eyes wondered to her father, asking nonverbally if she could eat. With a nod of his head, Tsuki smiled, bowed her head, quickly saying, "Itadakimasu," and waited for her father to finish his before picking up her chopsticks. The rest of the meal went by with Tsuki's mother attempting to strike up a conversation with fail as her father shot down every attempt with a non-caring "Hn." So went by the rest of dinner uneventfully.

Once it reached seven, Tsuki bid goodnight to her family and went up to her room. Usually, her mother sent her to her room at six, but since her father came home and she had to cook the meal, she could stay until seven. Her mother told her to go to bed at that time and no later, or else she'd have to go to bed at five for a week without dinner.

Tsuki walked up the stairs with her backpack, making a check list as she went. She'd made sure to wash the dishes, her mother hating to go near them. The leftover food was placed in the fridge, some she placed into a bento for her father when he left for work. Tsuki had wiped down the dinning room table and the counters in the kitchen. After that, she snuck around her family in the living room and went to do laundry. She'd have to get up early tomorrow to go hang the wet clothes to dry. Since all of her homework was done, she could garden and water the plants too. Her strawberries were turning out great and she wanted to pick them soon.

Once upstairs, Tsuki showered quickly, spending at most ten minutes in the cold water. She wasn't one for warm showers, or, that is, she never had a warm shower. Her mother always used cold water, so Tsuki never did get used to the warmth. She laughed in the shower quickly as she remembered bitterly that when her family went to the hot springs, she couldn't even get near the changing room without fainting from the heat. She had to stay in the family's rented room and wait for her family to get back.

Tsuki came out of the shower and changed into comfortable pajamas. She made sure to change into the winter ones because of the bruises along her body. The one thing good about the cold shower was the numbness that washed through her body. The bruises hurt less afterwards. Tsuki climbed into bed and snuggled deep into the blankets before letting out a sigh. Then, there was a knock on the door.

"_Moon?_" called Light.

"Come in, daddy," replied Tsuki softly.

Her father quietly came in, shutting the door behind him. He came over to the bed and sat on the edge of it. Tsuki twisted towards her father. He looked down at her sadly and tiredly.

"Daddy?" wondered Tsuki.

"Nothing," replied Light, "I just wanted to see you."

Tsuki looked up at her dad before taking her small arms from under the blankets and wrapped them around his waist. She rubbed her face into his side and felt the small petting of his hand on her head. She fell asleep like that, dreaming about a happier future and the girl who could be in that future.

**SAMANTHA**

It was currently seven thirty and Sam was in her room, multitasking. She thought about the day's events, the bakery, the fight, the fortress, and the girl she met that seemed to understand her in ways she didn't think possible. She hung onto the fact that Tsuki more then willingly accepted her as a friend, her first friend. Sam thought hard about the scars on her wrists and grasped the fact that she had never felt so – hopeful. The breaths she took were deep and emotions ripped through her like the monsoons of spring seasons. If she continued to be as placid as she was now, the possibility of her depression shrinking away in the next few months was astounding.

Then, to somber the mood, she thought of her father's hidden case. When she had gotten home, the screen had shown what looked like a high-ranking office at one of Japan's police HQ. A man around thirty was walking in it wearing a well-tailored suit and holding a thick briefcase. The man had stopped at the edge of his desk, putting on a coat. There was a picture on his desk that he was looking at with a soft and sad look. He moved the picture, lying it face down on the desk. He then turned and walked out.

Sam's father had stared at him with a look in his eyes that Sam had never seen, let alone actually know that he could make such a look. It held such prolonged pain and love that made her worry about him. Sam easily concluded that the man on the screen was part of her father's untold past. Most likely, he was the person that broke his heart.

Sam sighed and shook her head. She knew better then to dig and would, for now, pay no heed to what her father was doing. As far as he knew, Sam did not see anything. She planned to keep it that way as long as possible. To get her mind off it, Sam switched her attention to the case file on her lap that her father gave her earlier.

It was not much longer 'til Sam was sitting in bed, writing down what she got from the file when her grandfather entered the room in his new, automatic scooter that had broken already on the plane ride over. Sam had to contact her Uncle Near for the piece it needed. She ignored him since she was almost done with the case.

"Hold, on a moment Grandfather," said Sam as she finished the last page, "…ok….done. Solved. Did you need me?"

"…yes," said Watari slowly, "I've come to inform you that your father wishes to speak with you."

Sam turned around to face Watari and lifted an eyebrow, "What else?"

Watari smiled kindly, "You are to bring that finished case file and hope for the best."

Sam nodded and stood up to follow him as his movable scooter shut down.

"Oh, darn," said Watari as he tried to open the back to re-hook the paperclip.

"Allow me, grandfather," said Sam as she sluggishly tampered with the scooter. The paperclip fell off Watari made the U-turn. She snapped it back into place, securing it tighter then before.

Watari smiled, "Thank you."

"When Uncle Near sends me the proper part for that," muttered Sam, "I'll finish fixing it. I told him over the phone on the plane when we were on our way here. Just stay at a low speed for the moment. I don't think the scooter can handle anything else at faster speeds."

"Thank you," said Watari again.

"Oh, and Grandpa," asked Sam, "Could we find smaller clothes? These pants are way too big for me."

"Sure," smiled Watari, an unknown gleam in his eye, "We'll be able to do that."

Sam looked at him skeptically, "…Thanks."

They continued to the main room of the penthouse condominium. It took them about two minutes or so due to the mere size of the place. Even though it was small in height that does not mean it is small in width. It was almost twenty yards long of being an American Football field sized house. Sam found that every time they went somewhere, her father always had to get some colossal sized places. Wasting all that money, no matter how much you had, seemed to be illogical in Sam's view. She really would not mind having a small, three-person house.

Eventually, Sam and Watari made it to the main room where the largest equipment they had, the widescreen computer, Platinum screen TV (which was on in the background), etcetera, got placed. Sam's eyes immediately fell on her father's who stared straight back at her, unwaveringly. She sighed softly and tiredly as she went over and sat on the couch across from her father. She sat in her usual way of sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest. The finished case file in her arms landed in front of L as Sam tossed it gently to him. L stared at the case file from his spot on his sofa chair, the really comfortable one. He sipped tea from his cup and set it down on the table. Gingerly, he picked up the paper and took a bite from his sponge cake.

"So, Mr. Izaowa is the culprit here?" asked L, "Do you not assume that it was his superior?"

"Yes father," sighed Sam albeit reluctantly, "I had come to the conclusion that while Mr. Kabaiya was the most suspicious one of the group, Mr. Izaowa was the one in the deepest pit. His profile may not have matched that of Mrs. Tetsumi's rapist, but I did observe that Mrs. Tetsumi is a…less than honest woman herself. She is one of those types of people that would exaggerate the truth to make her feel less weak.

Mr. Izaowa's background consists of a one child marriage and he spends most of his time at work, rarely going home. Mr. Kabaiya however, has had two children, one recently within the last five years, and goes home practically every day at service hours' closing time."

"Deming that Mr. Izaowa was a bit unsatisfied with his home life," muttered L approvingly, "Continue."

"Well, other than that, there really isn't much else," said Sam, a tone of uncertainty oozing out of that statement, "He came up behind her, raped her, and left without a second glance and what he did."

'_Okay, so maybe I was kind of thinking how his daughter was a bitch and she must have gotten it from somewhere, but really….' _Sam thought grudgingly.

L sipped his tea again, placing down the file and looked at Sam, "You pass test two."

Sam's head, which was on her knees, moved to lie softly on the back of the couch.

"Test one, I assume," whispered Sam, "was whether or not I'd be able to keep my promise on the time I was allowed out."

The TV that was on suddenly turned to talk about an incident in the Narakaza Shunki Center. Sam blinked worriedly at the reporter's voice.

"Yes," replied L, "If you hadn't, I would most likely have thrown you into my room for the night as punishment. I am thankful that you followed my rules of no contact unless you are shopping."

Sam shuddered at the thought of going to her father's room, which she would have if she told him about the girl and the little outing. Thankfully, the reporters on the news didn't get a glimpse of her, only the other girl. Her father had no clue if she was there at that time or not. She thought she had been caught by his reaction when he heard the name of the girl on the screen. However, he only paused to look at her with an odd expression and turned back to look at Sam. His eyes held pain and betrayal before quickly turning impassive.

Sam prayed to what ever god that was out there for not being caught. Her father's room was always a prison cell with eyes on her at all times. She would have no privacy and would be forced to do nothing but write on and on about a sense of morality and responsibility. She'd then be spanked twenty times across her father's knees and placed on a wooden chair in the corner before writing more about obeying the rules and anything else that popped in her father's head. What made it worse was that Sam knew that no matter how old she was, she'd always be stuck with that same, humiliating punishment.

Sam unconsciously rubbed on her scarred arms. She wished so hard to not feel like cutting herself again, but…

"If that's all, I will be leaving," said Sam as she moved to get up.

"No, no," L said stopping her with a raised hand, "I would like a moment to discuss your birthday."

Sam blinked, unsure about what to say.

"I realize that I have been a bit overbearing."

Sam didn't miss L's uneasy glance towards Watari.

"And for the last few years I have neglected to celebrate your birthday on a… happy note."

Sam stared emotionlessly at L, but her hands tensed around her knees spastically.

"This year, I was hoping to make it a good one," said L looking uncomfortable and dare Sam say, guilty.

"H…how?" asked Sam, still as neutral as she was before.

L got up from his spot and came over to hug Sam, who became shocked as she looked over at her grandfather in happy surprise. He smiled sweetly back at her. L's hug was awkward, but Sam turned and buried her head into the crook of his neck.

"Do you remember when we had the outing? You were almost four," asked L.

"The day that Uncle Mello, Matt, and Near came with you, me, and grandpa. We went to the zoo and then went shopping. I remember the picnic on Black Raven Hill," recited Sam as she counted off the things she remembered, not hearing the door to the apartment open.

"Yes, and I showed you how to do your first drop kick," reminisced L.

"…I almost hit Uncle Mello were it hurt. He lost his balance and fell down the hill," hummed Sam in amusement.

"Yes," chuckled L, "I hope we can have as much fun with tomorrow as we had with that."

"Hey! That hurt you know!" croaked a voice.

Sam jumped up startled, "Uncle Mello!"

She pulled away from her father's hug and saw that two other people were standing by her uncle.

"Uncle Matt! Uncle Near!"

"Yo."

"Hello."

Sam scampered over to them, tripping over the couch, but finding herself steady again. She jumped to hug her Uncle Mello.

"Hey, kiddo," said Mello, "How are you?"

Sam squeezed him tightly in response before repeating the action to Uncle Matt and Near. She turned around to wonder what was going on. It dawned on her that this was not just for her birthday, something was up. She knew that since Roger's death all three of her uncles were taking care of the orphanage. She'd thought that Near would have stayed behind for the children, but apparently not. Something big was defiantly happening or they most likely think something big will happen.

"Why is everyone here?" asked Sam.

"It's your birthday tomorrow kiddo," said Mello.

"What did you expect," said Matt.

"The same thing as last year," muttered Sam.

"Not this year," said Matt cheekily.

"Sam," said Near as he reached into the white bag at his side, "Here's the piece you wanted."

Sam's eyes brightened before reaching out to grab the electronic equipment that she needed to fix Watari's scooter. She turned around and headed for Watari.

"Grandpa!" said Sam, "Where are my tools?"

"They're in the kitchen," said Watari, "Let's go there to do this."

"Alright," said Sam as she followed her grandfather to the kitchen, "We'll be back in a moment!"

Once in the kitchen, Sam grabbed her tools and set to work fixing the scooter. She told Watari to turn the main power off and he did. He sat and Sam unhooked the paper clip from the scooter. She unplugged and detached the broken central power cord, being careful to not touch any other wires or screws. She took out the small power pack that was attached to the broken cord for jump starting the scooter. The wire itself was damaged beyond compare, but Sam placed it neatly in the side of her tool box to use later. She inconspicuously grabbed a sound modifier micro chip from the box along with tweezers and a sound dampener panel. Then she grabbed the new power cord.

The tricky part of this was placing the sound chip in the right spot so that it was hidden and still gets the right amount of power. The chip came from a birthday present two years ago. It used to be part of a two way set of walky-talkies from the American's F.B.I. agency that her Uncle Mello still had. Sam had taken one apart and grabbed the sound chip along with the dampener and then proceeded to make a one way radio and a head set for it.

Sam knew she could program it. She'd done it before; she just had to make it look like she wasn't doing it. The power cord was simple enough to hook up to the receptors. She attached the chip quickly behind the power pack's main router. Taking the tweezers, Sam attached the sound dampener with a voice receptor. She twisted the wire as an antenna and then proceeded to plug everything back into the scooter. She turned the 'antenna' to match only to the radio's wavelength. The inscription readings were to sound muffled like it wasn't a station if the coding was off. That process took her about ten minutes to do before she was satisfied. (1)

"Ok, grandpa," said Sam as she closed everything up and put the extra stuff back into her tool box, "turn her on."

Watari flipped the power back on and found that it worked fine now.

"Good job," said Watari happily.

"No problem," yawned Sam suddenly.

Watari chuckled at Sam who yawned again as they went back into the main room.

"Someone should go to bed," observed L as he saw Sam yawn.

"Yeah," replied Sam, who was faking the yawns easily, "Night everyone."

She waved and went straight to her room.

"Good night, Samantha," said L, using her full name for what may be the last time.

Sam nodded and walked to her room, out of sight from the adults that stayed to talk in the main room.

She saw that the time was nine and immediately went over to plug her head set into her radio. She was happy because for once she out smarted her father twice in one day. Finding a friend and knowing what they are saying. Her father knew that she used the small radio whenever possible, so it wasn't strange that she had it on at night with her listening to it. Sam sighed in relief and lay on her bed in newly changed pj's. She changed the station to the one she programmed for the chip and waited to hear the conversation.

"-defiantly suspicious of us," came Uncle Mello's voice.

"That's just the way she works," said Uncle Near "It wouldn't be the Sam we knew if she didn't always suspect something is up. She is paranoid."

"True, but still," said Uncle Mello with a long pause.

"So what are we doing tomorrow L?" asked Uncle Matt.

"We'll go shopping at the Narakaza Shunki Center," said Watari answering for L as L took a drink from his tea, "She said your clothes were too big on her, Matt."

Sam rolled her eyes, _'of course his clothes are too big for me. Uncle Near's clothes are the only ones even close to my size.'_

"Then I'd like to go to that bakery," said L, "Something's up that Sam isn't telling me. That news report sounds like something she'd do."

Uncle Mello snorted and Sam could just see his eyes roll, "I think you're just being a paranoid father. If something bad happened, she would have told you. Besides, just because the incident happened at that place doesn't mean she was automatically in it."

"It's not just that," said L, "I'd like to get the inscription code to the center's cameras."

Sam's heart fell, her father was going to find another way to keep her under lock and key.

"L" warned Watari, "You aren't keeping your end of the deal."

"Technically," said L, "I am not breaking the deal at all. We never said that I couldn't control the cameras. She just wanted to get out of the house for awhile."

"Away from your gaze," said Watari a slight hint of disapproval.

"L," chimed in Matt's voice, "You are suffocating her."

"What she doesn't know won't kill her," said L stubbornly.

"She could find out," said Near, "She'll be able to, you know."

"She won't," L said nonchalantly, "I have a security plan for that."

The sound of a feed up sigh filled the room, "L, you will only push her away. Possibly over the edge."

Sam heard Mello say this with what almost sounded like womanly concern.

"She'll be safe," said L wirily.

"At what price?" asked Mello and Matt at the same time.

There was silence and Sam turned off the radio while taking off the head set, wanting to hear no more of the lies her father told. She placed the radio on her side table and got comfortable under the covers. Sam, hurt deeply by her father's lies, scratched determinedly at her scarred wrists. For the first time in ages, she cried. Uncle Mello soon came in and held her, trying to calm her down. He must have seen her cry on the monitor. When he noticed the bleeding wrists, he didn't say anything. He only wrapped them up and held her close. Eventually she fell asleep, trying to figure out how to meet the girl the next day, and be able to keep her a secret.

(1) – Oh yeah. I just made this entire thing up without it sounding dumb! But I have no idea if what I said even makes sense (so don't hurt me if you really do know how to do that or know that it's Gibberish.)

A/N: So, have you figured out who's who yet in the relationship? :) Reviews always welcome. (Beta's are welcome too!)

From,

Kira Kiwaseki


	6. Birthday mornings

'_This is thought bubble'_

"This is speaking"

"_This is English"_

**Note:**

After this chapter, the views will not change from one to another.

**Previously…**

"_She'll be safe," said L wirily._

"_At what price?" asked Mello and Matt at the same time._

_There was silence and Sam turned off the radio while taking off the head set, wanting to hear no more of the lies her father told. She placed the radio on her side table and got comfortable under the covers. Sam, hurt deeply by her father's lies, scratched determinedly at her scarred wrists. For the first time in ages, she cried. Uncle Mello soon came in and held her, trying to calm her down. He must have seen her cry on the monitor. When he noticed the bleeding wrists, he did not say anything. He only wrapped them up and held her close. Eventually she fell asleep, trying to figure out how to meet the girl the next day, and be able to keep her a secret. _

**TSUKIAKARI**

When Tsuki woke up the next day, she found that she was a full hour behind her normal schedule. The time read 6:00 o'clock and the sun was rising on the horizon. Quickly stretching out her rejuvenated limbs, Tsuki flinched, noticing that her bruises were worse then she thought. She gingerly poked one and hissed out in pain. Quietly, as to not wake up anyone else, she walked downstairs in robes, clean clothes in her hands. The bruises on her back hurt less then the ones on her stomach. She only wrapped those ones once she was in the laundry room. She'd have to skip doing her morning jog as so not to miss the chores she was assigned from her mother and brother.

Tsuki dressed in the cold, dark room and grabbed the clothes from the pile underneath the laundry shoot. Each set of clothing was placed in their respective baskets as she grabbed the wet laundry from the washing machine. Taking the clothes, Tsuki opened the door of the back to a crispy, fresh morning. The morning air was pure allowing Tsuki a moment of relaxation before she set to work hanging up the load of wet clothes on the clothe lines.

Soon all the clothes were set in nice evenly spaced lines. Tsuki looked up to see that it would be a cloudless day. A May day without clouds, how fitting for her birthday. Tsuki smiled for the bliss of being up with no worries or people to yell at her. Her favorite time was the early morning because of that.

Sighing to herself, Tsuki went inside to cook breakfast for her family. The day was just getting started and she knew that her mother and brother would sleep in until nine on the weekends. Then, Tsuki tried to remember her father's sleeping schedule. According to that, he should be up within the early hours. Usually, he was out the door by six. Therefore, while it should not have startled her to see her father sitting at the table, a fresh brew of coffee in his mug and the paper in his hands, it did.

"O-Ohayō daddy," stuttered Tsuki as she saw him.

Her father jumped slightly at the sound of someone coming into the kitchen. He placed the paper down on the table, with a hand on his chest, and looked at Tsuki, who was blushing.

"Oh," said Light, "Morning, _Moon_. You surprised me."

"Sorry," Tsuki muttered cutely.

Her father just waved her over. Tsuki beamed and moved over to stand in front of him.

"Why are you up so early?" asked Light puzzled, "It's only 6:30."

Tsuki looked down and then smiled up at her father, "I like the morning and it's not early, I slept a whole hour later than usual."

Light blinked, "I like them too. I didn't know you were such a morning person."

Light looked up and looked out the window, "Why were you doing laundry? Doesn't Misa do that?"

"I-I like to do the laundry, I don't mind," said Tsuki hurriedly.

There was a pregnant pause and then Tsuki walked towards the fridge, grabbing eggs and a frying pan before heading towards the stove. She placed the items down at their respective spot. There was a sound of screeching from behind causing Tsuki to wonder if Light fell off his chair. Before she could turn to ask about what happened to her father, hands rushed around her middle, pulling her away from the stove. Tsuki, surprised, squeaked at the intrusion.

"Tsuki," reprimanded Light, "Don't go near the stove! You could burn yourself."

Tsuki looked up to see her father look down at her sternly. His statement confused her.

"But-but…Daddy, I-"stuttered Tsuki as she thought she would not be able to eat.

Her mother once told her that she could not eat unless she made her mother's and brother's food first. She said that her father would not like it if she did not help around and cook morning breakfast. Sure, she burned herself on multiple occasions. Yes, it did leave scars (which she hides under her shirts rather well), but she had wanted to eat, so she never minded it.

"No buts, Tsuki," Light said sternly, "You will not go near that stove. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Tsuki looked up at her father, confused tremendously that she would not be able to eat. Her eyes watered and she frantically tried to get out of her father's grip to go make food. Her father's grip tightened.

"No!" said Tsuki, struggling hard whilst crying, "I-I ha-have to m-make f-f-food! I won't be ableee to eeeatt!"

Tsuki's father twisted her in his arms and hoisted her up into a bone-crushing hug.

"Relax, Tsuki!" demanded Light lowly, "What's wrong with you today?"

Tsuki's flailing was futile; her father's iron-steel grip did not budge. She hit him on the shoulder and he winced as his shoulder popped, but he still held strong. Tsuki immediately stopped her struggling and turned stock ridged. Her father put her down on the floor, wondering what had happened.

"_Moon?_" asked Light.

Tsuki's eyes were unfocused and wide in horror. Her face was pale white and her body shook.

"Tsukiakari?"

Tsuki's head snapped up and tears burst from her eyes, "Sorry, I'm sorry, sorry."

Repeatedly she said those words and ran to the cabinet to sit outside of it. She would run into it if she could, but the handle was too high for her small body to reach. She leaned against it and her small body racked with sobs.

"I-I didn't m-mean to-to," said Tsuki, her runny face hidden in a fetal position.

Her father was by her side in less then a moment. He scooped her up into his arms and went to sit on a chair by the table. One of his arms wrapped securely around her waist and the other attempted to get her chin up to face him. Tsuki's head tilted up slightly, but her eyes did not meet his.

"_Moon_, look at me," whispered Light in concern, "What are you talking about? What's gotten into you lately?"

Tsuki slowly looked up at him and hiccupped as tears still streamed down her face, "I-*hic* did-didn't mea*hic*n to hit yo*hic*u."

Light looked at her sadly and took a hanky from his pocket to wipe her face. Tsuki's face scrunched up for a second expecting to feel harsh material, but relaxed when in it was soft and gentle. Tsuki continued to hiccup all the while.

"Blow," commanded Light serenely as he placed the hanky over her nose.

She blew and he wiped off the rest of the snot before throwing the hanky into the sink with a mastered skill. He turned back to Tsuki as she had leaned herself on the edge of his thighs, her back touching the table.

"Understand, _Moon_, I just wanted you to be safe from harm," said Light, "If you wanted to eat something, you should have told me. I could easily make you something."

Tsuki sniffed and looked down in shame, "But I still h-hit you…"

"Your body is too small to actually hurt me," commented Light.

"Really?" wondered Tsuki cautiously.

"Really," promised Light.

"But you flinched," pointed out Tsuki.

Light shook his head, "You just popped my shoulder. It didn't hurt, it just felt odd."

Tsuki bit her lip in contemplation. Her father was not hurt. She had not done anything to injure him. He was even willing to make her some food after she had been so disobedient. Tsuki's hiccups died away and her nose stopped running. Tsuki looked back up at him.

"….alright," said Tsuki, "I'm sorry I was bad."

Light pulled her in towards his chest to hug her and kiss her forehead, "No, Tsuki, you weren't bad….but…"

Tsuki rubbed her face under his chin, into his neck in a calming motion for both of them.

"I do question why you thought you wouldn't eat in the first place," wondered Light mostly to himself.

Tsuki did not say anything and just sat there in her father's arms. He sighed, patting her light-brown hair-covered head.

"Do you want scrambled eggs or an omelet, birthday girl?"

Tsuki perked up at the acknowledgement of her birthday, "Scrambled, please!"

Light smiled at Tsuki and set to work. They still had almost two hours before the annoying ones came down, so they were defiantly going to enjoy it.

**SAMANTHA**

Sam woke up to see that the time was 8:00, two full hours before she usually woke up. She groaned, knowing grudgingly that she would not be able to fall back asleep. Rolling over in her bed, she hissed out in pain as her arm felt like a billion needles poked it. She looked down at her arms. It confused her as to why they were wrapped in bandages, but soon she remembered the events from the day before. Sam suddenly sat up in her bed in shock before regretting getting up so fast. The headache that was formed was monstrous.

"Ow," said Sam, grabbing her head in her hands.

"That's what happens when you lose that much blood," said Mello.

Sam jumped at the voice and groaned louder as pain shot back through her body.

"Here," sighed Mello, coming over to hand Sam a glass of water and some pills, "You'd better take those. I just hope that one doesn't react with your depression pills."

Sam took them gratefully and drank the water, "What a way to start off my birthday."

Mello ran a hand through his hair, "Well, if you hadn't mutilated yourself, it would have been better."

Sam turned her head away from him, not in shame, but in frustration.

"Look," Mello said squeezing the bridge of his nose with his fingers, "You don't have to say anything. I just want you to know that I am here if you need to talk to anyone about it. Just you and me. Alright?"

Sam turned to look at him incredulously, before looking at him in indifference and looking up at the camera that she knew was facing them. She then looked down and laughed a very dry, humorless laugh.

"While I am happy about the offer," anger dripping from her voice, "I don't think I'll take you up on that. What's the point in talking about things one-on-one when my life is broadcasted to other people anyway?"

Sam watched a pained and disgusted look wash over her Uncle Mello's face quickly before a placid look fell onto it. He reached down on the ground and grabbed a bag that was sitting there. He tossed it on her bed.

"Happy Birthday, I hope you find them useful," hinted Mello, "Anyway, get dressed and head to the main room when you're done…Sam."

Sam caught the hint and reluctant use of Sam. She could tell he hated the idea as much as she did. Her Uncle Mello was always what Sam could call a Motherly figure. He would always be there when she would cry. Always try to get her to speak to him. Uncle Matt, however, was the one she liked to hang out with the most because he would not try anything. They would just hang out, play games, and bug the crap out of Uncle Mello by ignoring him or 'acting like fucking slave drivers.' On the rare occasion, Uncle Near would join in the fun. Still, at the end, all three of the Uncles would make up and life would be normal again.

Sam sighed, remembering the good times before somehow morphing her thoughts towards her friend. Tsuki was something she could never be. She was stronger and could still keep a smile even though her life was retched. Thinking of Tsuki made Sam lighten up a bit, causing her to realize that she had started to _feel_ again shortly after their first shared words.

Shaking her head deliberately, Sam decided to open the present. The first thing she noticed was the envelope. She quickly picked it up and ripped it open. The letter, she knew, was coded before she even had to look at it. It was a habit for her Uncle Mello to send her a letter each year with some sort of code, clue, or hidden something in it. Sam's father did not know the key to the letters, so he was never able to figure it out.

The letter this time meant:

-Dear Samantha…. It is Sam now huh,

I know that you hurt yourself because somehow, you overheard our conversation last night. You are a smart girl, it is to be expected, but you should know better then to hurt yourself. What would happen to us? To L? No matter what he does to you that is unfair. Do not be selfish when it comes to that.

This information is not reaching L, even though he asked. Do not be surprised when he gives you that speech of his again. I would not put it past him to bind his own daughter. L has changed in strange ways.

When going out, I will try to make sure that L does not get too much camera action in the bakery. Near knows you were there. One of his men's wives was walking by it. Be thankful she did not tell the cops about you or anyone else for that matter.

Matt and I will take you out to the center first so that we can, as L said, find out your lies. There will be about twenty minutes for you to go and do what you need to do to hide what has happened before L shows up. We will bend the truth as much as possible.

Anyway, I hope that the present will help.

Love you,

Uncle Mello (Matt, & Near)-

Sam looked at it for a moment more before placing it back into the bag. She pulled out the present and found that it was a stuffed panda.

_'What the…?'_ thought Sam shell shocked, _'How the bloody hell is this supposed to help me? I mean it is cute and all, but what about something helpful?'_

Sam groaned, tempted to throw the panda on her bed near the rest of the stuffed pandas in her pile. Then she remembered her uncle's words "…find _them_ useful."

There was only one panda. Sam gently felt around the panda, but found nothing. The bear was different from the others, she noticed. It felt thicker, harder, and almost olden. One of the other things that were different about it was that it had a deformed face and stomach. Stitches were placed heavier is some small spots running down the side of the panda. Its nose leaned to left side more and the eyes were lopsided.

The more Sam looked at it the more appealing it seemed. Sam decided that even though she could not actually figure out what the present was, she would take it with her on the trip to the shopping center. Sam shook her head in amusement at the poor thing.

Quickly, Sam looked around her room and spotted clothes that were placed on her vanity. She got up, minding her wound, and walked over to get them. They were a bit smaller then last time's clothes, but Sam could easily see that they were still going to need to be tied as tight as possible. Obviously, these were Uncle Near's clothes. No one else in her family wore clothes that could be considered night scrubs at a hospital.

The clock on Sam's wall read ten by the time she was done changing and showering. She walked out of her bathroom and looked up at her panda bear that sat on the vanity. It seemed to look at her in sympathy and concern. Sam stared at it blankly and reached to pick it up. It was heavier then it looked, but she knew that she would have to look into it away from home. The panda defiantly held something important. Every extra stitch must be something her Uncle had done.

Grunting tiredly, Sam walked towards the door of her room, making sure to grab her bag (a Baggallini Nylon hugger in beige that Watari gave her for her birthday), cell phone, wallet (which she placed both of those in her pants pockets), Mini m-Att prototype laptop (courtesy of the m-Att CEO, manufacturer, and owner, Uncle Matt. Holding one full terabyte, it can function as all gaming systems, a TV, a laptop, a camera, and pretty much anything that there has been. The only condition is that Sam had to figure out how to use it because Uncle Matt only programmed it…not actually gone through it to see if it works.) And its case so that it would not be harmed inside the Baggallini hugger's main pouch, and then carefully placed her panda beside the laptop in her bag.

As Sam walked out to the hallway, she wondered if by chance her presents from her Uncle Near and Father were going to be the usual stack of puzzles and books from around the world or if they were to be something different. Sam, however, knew that it was the same when she saw the stacks in the living room.

'_Great,'_ thought Sam as she looked at the piles, _'more sorting for me to do in my library…'_

**A/N:** If you have not realized yet, Light is a bit…unobservant. He does not quite catch the issues going on. That might be because he is looking for someone so that person is one of the most important things for him or perhaps he is getting old and feels dejected.

In addition, L is over protective of what is considered "his" or something of value to him. This may be because he lost what was once considered "his" and he does not want that to happen again or perhaps he is hungry for some strawberries.

(If the first choices are not a –oh look, here is the basis of something that happened to them in the past- then I don't know what is XP.)

Also, I've realized that I haven't posted in a while, (kinda forgot if you can believe me XP) so I made this one slightly shorter than usual.

HeHeHe,

Kira Kiwaseki


	7. Forget Me Not

'_This is thought bubble'_

"This is speaking"

"_This is English"_

'This is coding which you will learn about in this chapter'

**Note: **from now on COMBINED views

Thank you my readers for your patience and caring. I get goose bumps from your reviews and they make me update faster. (No, seriously, they do! I actually get a good portion of the next part done after I read one…..But then I stop…;-_-….sorry) While my other story is currently on hold, it is not truly forgotten...and this one is currently being updated. Thank you!

**Warning: 1)** heartbreaking part – use tissues!

**2)** Sad and adorable fluff! (Not really a warning on this one…..enjoy :D)

**Previously…**

_As Sam walked out to the hallway, she wondered if by chance her presents from her Uncle Near and Father were going to be the usual stack of puzzles and books from around the world or if they were to be something different. Sam, however, knew that it was the same when she saw the stacks in the living room._

'_Great,' thought Sam as she looked at the piles, 'more sorting for me to do in my library…'_

**Chapter 6 (again, combined views):**

At two fifty, Tsuki waited patiently for Sam to show up at the bakery while sipping her Jasmine greed tea. Her birthday was a good one so far, one of the better ones. The morning went by faster than she wanted, but she enjoyed having her father's company. When her mother and brother came down, Tsuki went outside with the excuse of getting the laundry to avoid their glares. She returned with the clean laundry folded and the dress clothes primped and ironed within half an hour. Tsuki quickly and inconspicuously finished her daily chores while her mother and brother bombarded her father with worthless blabber.

Eventually, her father exclaimed his want to take Tsuki out to have her birthday. Fortunately, er unfortunately, Misa had other engagements with work and her brother would rather spend his time studying (or jacking off with his friends and their girls) so neither of them could come. Tsuki happily told her aggravated father that she would be happy to just go with him. No matter how reluctant and peeved he was at the rest of the family, he looked down at her and nodded.

When Tsuki asked where they were going, Light just smiled and dragged her to the car (the one in which she'd been in only once before.) He spent lunch time taking Tsuki to see a reserved showing at "Juncious" a fantastic lunch and dinner showcase restaurant that was extremely expensive and was made for any and all ages. There were no orders taken in the place, just three main courses including an appetizer, a main course, and a desert. Desert actually was created at the table as part of the act in every show. The show this time had been called 'The Witches of Brraue Swamp.' The desert had been some of the 'potion' that the witches made as an antidote for the poison that was in the audience's drinks (basically, it was frozen chocolate mousse custard with a Carmel and strawberry drizzle.)

When they had left, Tsuki was completely and utterly enthusiastic about wanting to see other acts like that. Her father shock his head in amusement and promised that from that point on, they would always go to see a performance of some sort on her birthday. Tsuki shouted happily at that and thanked her father many times over.

Once in the car and out of hearing reach of other people, Light reached across to the front passenger seat and gently grabbed a present that had been hidden from view. He placed it on Tsuki's lap and told her not to open it until he said so. The present was small and had crescent moon wrapping paper. Tsuki, being the very obedient child that she was, happily nodded her head and held it gently. It was almost as if it would break if she touched it.

They pulled up to the parking lot off of the highway that belonged to the Narakaza Shunki Center. Tsuki wasn't totally positive about what was going on, or why they were there, but she trusted her father and waited for him to tell her. However, Light didn't say a thing and just walked Tsuki to the opening of Mr. Hachimitsu's Bakery. When he finally started talking, he just told her to choose whatever she wanted for her snack.

Tsuki stood stunned and flabbergasted by the turn of events that was happening. In all (short) eight years of her existence, she had not once been so good by her father until that day. Nor has he been as careful with her as he has been now. Even when she asked Mr. Hachimitsu if she could get the plain apple and cinnamon pie, fresh from the oven, her father was the one that grabbed the hot plate and fork for her. She had absolutely no clue about what he was planning on doing, though plan he did and it was going to be big.

Light left the bakery after telling Tsuki that she could open the present once he was gone. He kissed her forehead, told her she loved her, and left her in the capable hands of Mr. Hachimitsu with a nod. She waved at him as he left and thanked Mr. Hachimitsu for the tea he replaced the empty plate with. Tsuki couldn't wait to see what would happen next. She giggled happily at the thought that her father loved her and had bluntly told her so in public. He was a very private man, and for him to say that in the open, even with Mr. Hachimitsu as the only witness, was an extremely sentimental gift to Tsuki.

That had been thirty minutes ago. Tsuki looked up at the clock that now read two fifty eight and vaguely wondered when her father would be back. She still hadn't opened her present yet, to busy thinking about the day while drinking her fifth cup of tea. There was something expensive in this box, she just knew it. Carefully, she peeled away the wrapping paper. It had covered up the box to a snazzy looking silver Rolex watch that had been imported via her father's mail. The watch was gorgeous and as Tsuki turned it in her hands, she saw the engravement under the clock and the note stashed away at the bottom of the box with a charm of a crescent moon around it. Her birthmark was, after all, her namesake (Tsukiakari means Moonlight).

_"Counting down the seconds, Moon,"_ muttered Tsuki out loud in English, shivering; a gut feeling told her something was up, but she didn't know what.

Inspecting the watch further, she found that she could add attachments to it and automatically she placed the crescent moon on it. Then, she attached it to her wrist, smiling shortly before grabbing the note. However, as she read it, the fear she felt earlier was proven as fact.

_Dear my Moon,_

_I am so sorry._

_Don't wait for me at the café long because I won't be back. I can't go back to that house and if you have noticed, throughout the house my stuff has been thrown out or missing for several weeks. I took all the necessities with me in my car's trunk. I left a large portion of money from my bank account and placed it in a Switzerland account under your name and will be left for you (no matter your age) in case of emergency. The rest of the money has been placed in several other locations._

_I want you to understand that it is not you that has caused me to get up and leave. You are actually the only reason as to why I stayed in the first place, but now I must go and try to find something that your dear 'mother' and 'brother' have cost me.(I would have left earlier if I didn't learn of the fate of the thing I lost. I was enraged when I found out, but over the years, it landed into depression. When Misa had you, I found that you made me feel again…)_

_According to the police data base, I am currently working on helping the world find missing peoples (as in terrorist groups and such). In reality, I am doing this, but spending a good amount of time searching for what I have lost._

_I will only come back for your birthday. I will send you postcards and letters and you can write to me through the police headquarters Secretary. That is, if you want to write to me even after what I did to you. I noticed this morning that you were acting stranger than usual, but you showed me later when I saw you space out and think about things that there was something here for you. Something I couldn't give to you, something I couldn't give myself all those years ago._

_My story behind this is a long one, but I will explain it to you on your thirteenth birthday. Take care of yourself and keep your head up. Your Aunt Sayu will be checking frequently on you for me. If I was able to bring you with me, I would. But I can't because if you were to come with, I'd not only be risking your future, but also your safety. I worry about you and love you too much to do so._

_Sorry Moon,_

_Your father_

_P.S. Your account is CH1656 - 00230 - 00A109822346. Once this number is memorized, please burn this and make sure no one knows of it. This is for you to choose how to spend, all right? _

_I will always love you, Tsukiakari. You are of my blood and of my heart, no matter what anyone tells you. I'm sorry I can't be a better father or protector._

Tsuki choked back a sob as she finished reading the letter. Glancing between the letter and the watch, she understood what went on today. Her father was able to get away and left her behind. She got the message from the watch; it defiantly meant that he would miss her, but she would miss him even more. Tsuki knew that as long he did what he thought was best for her; he'd only be hurting her.

Tsuki placed the letter face down on the table. Setting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands, she cried her eyes out. She tried to hold them back, and it hurt, but she didn't want to cry in public. Mr. Hachimitsu came over to Tsuki and with his petite and frail body, gently picked up the overly light weighted child, tea, and letter. He slowly brought her to the back room to lay her down on the couch near the corner of the small kitchen. Before Mr. Hachimitsu could try to comfort her (and no, he didn't know that Light had planned this until he nodded at him) the service bell at the front counter rang. He reluctantly left Tsuki to go help the customer.

The second he step out of the room, Tsuki completely and utterly broke down. By curling her body into the back cushion she hoped to melt into the old, stained fabric. She allowed the sobs to rack through her body. Each tear falling down her face landed on the couch. Tsuki's mind pounded in agony with the realization that she had been left to fend for her life (from her own _family)_ by herself. No one would be there at the house to stop the revolting torture she was being put through. There was no one to watch her back as she struggled day by day to stay away from the mutilation of Yukio's and her mother's words and actions. She couldn't be saved.

So warped in her ominous thoughts, Tsuki didn't even notice the presence of three others that entered the room to find her.

Sam stood there with her Uncle Mello and Mr. Hachimitsu while they all stared at the shattered body shaking uncontrollably on the couch. Sam had finished her hard time working in her library, sorting what needed to be sorted (and unpacked from the move) before lunch and spent hours of worthless time just listening to her father discuss boring and simple cases with her Uncle Near. Eventually, her Uncle Mello was smart enough to exclaim that he was in need of some fresh air and her Uncle Matt proclaimed his need for a smoke. L looked at them and told Sam to go with them and they'd see them around three fifteen at the bakery in the Narakaza Shunki Center. After Sam grabbed her bag, Matt drove Mello and Sam to the center. Matt would have to meet with them after finding a place to park and grab his gear. Sam watched Matt loop back into traffic to find a parking spot. Once she turned around, however, she saw the police man from her father's surveillance video stare longingly towards the Center before getting into his car to drive away (and leaving an open parking spot).

It took less than five minutes for Sam and Mello to get to the bakery. They had to ring the bell at the front because no one was there and Sam knew that Tsuki would be here. She just didn't know that she would be bearing her heart out on a stained couch in the back of the small bakery.

Sam's heart and mouth clenched. Her hands squeezed her bag straps until they turned white across the knuckles. She stared at the poor sight that was sprawled in front of her. Looking around for what caused her friend this much pain, Sam found that there was a letter lying near Tsuki's feet on the couch. She picked it up to quickly scan over its contents before her eyes widen in empathy. Sam set the letter down shakily on the island counter, along with her bag, before looking over at Tsuki.

"Oh Tsuki," sighed Sam sadly and understandably.

Tsuki jumped up and snapped her head over to Sam, "S-Sammy-chan?"

Sam's eyes softened. Tsuki's face was staining more with ever flowing tears.

"Sammy-chan!" cried Tsuki as she launched herself at Sam, "Why must I be thrown aside? Why must I suffer for what someone else has done? W-why am I the one alone? Is all I am just a nuisance? Am  
I just that pathetic? Would the world would be better off without me? Why can I never be happy for once and not have my hope torn from my grasp?"

Sam stumbled back at the surprised hug before staring down at Tsuki. Hesitantly, Sam returned the hug with trembling hands, squeezing Tsuki just as hard as Tsuki was squeezing Sam. It was as if their lives depended on the hug, depended on them to stay together.

"Tsuki," murmured Sam lowly, "You are not pathetic. You are in a way, a lot stronger than I am or will ever be. What you are thinking is what I have felt and am still feeling. But we don't have to be alone in this. I can see that now. We will help each other get through this. We can be there for each other in times that no one else can. Our bond can't be shared with any others but ourselves."

"B-but," cried Tsuki, "We keep getting hurt. It's not going to get any better!"

"No," whispered Sam, "I noticed that a long time ago. It's why I started to cut myself."

Tsuki's eyes widened as she stepped back from her hug, spotting the bandage on Sam's arm, and grasped for it. Sam hissed at the rough contact. Tsuki pulled back quickly before gently reaching back for it.

"Sorry," croaked Tsuki, examining the bandage, only taking a small portion off of it before wincing, "You'll stop that won't you? I can tell you've done it before, but I didn't know you still did it."

"I don't think I can," replied Sam as she noticed Tsuki's odd way of thinking of others before herself. It was one of the things that made her so much stronger.

"No!" Tsuki glared at her, sadness forgotten as anger set in, "Promise me you'll stop!"

"I can't," Sam replied calmly, seemingly uncaring.

"Yes you can! Would you just care about yourself! Don't turn your back on what you CAN control! You're stupid to think that it's not going to harm you!" growled Tsuki.

"I do care! I know it's bad," snapped Sam lowly while she moved back a little, "And I am not turning my back on this. It's the only thing I can control! It's the only thing that makes me feel!"

There was a pause; heavy breathing was the only thing that could be heard.

Tsuki stared at Sam with a sad look in her eyes, moving to wrap her arms around Sam before speaking softly, "I make you feel….and you make me feel. I can't go on if you keep going doing things like this."

Sam stood stiffly, taking in Tsuki's words.

"What would happen to you if you go too far? If just once you push a little too hard or twitch at the wrong time….I know I haven't known you long….but if you died….. I-"

Tsuki didn't finish the sentence, but squeezed Sam instead, her shuddering body giving way to more tears. Sam looked down at Tsuki, wondering how they became so close with only knowing each other for less than a day. It was weird how Tsuki was able to bring out so many emotions in her and her to Tsuki. There was a bond in this. Sam just knew it even though she was still scared about the fast pace of the bond. But wasn't that what she wanted; to be able to feel something? Now that she had, Sam knew that she would never go back to what she used to be, even if she tried.

"I….I'll try to stop," Sam replied, hugging Tsuki's body shakily, "If not for my sake, then for yours."

Tsuki squeezed her.

"And no matter what, I'll always be there for you. I won't go dying on you."

"P-promise?" sniffed Tsuki as she lifted her head up to stare at Sam, glistening grey-bronze meeting smoldering blueberry orbs.

For just one second, a small smile graced Sam's face that only Tsuki could see, one that would forever be reserved for Tsuki and Tsuki alone, "Promise."

Tsuki sniffed again before burying her head back into Sam's stomach. Sam petted Tsuki's hair unconsciously, practically reflexively. They stayed like that for a while until they heard a muffled cough from beside them. Sam's Uncle Mello gave Sam a look.

"While I hate to interrupt you, Sam," Mello actually sounded genuine for once, "I'd advise that you tell your little friend what she needs to know and soon. Once your father's here, mum's the word. Remember?"

Sam gave a small growl in annoyance as the moment was lost, but nodded and sank down into the couch, dragging Tsuki into her lap. Tsuki giggled at the position, but didn't move other than getting into a more comfortable spot in Sam's lap. Sam waited for Tsuki to look back at her and settle down before stating the important message.

"To start, I will introduce my Uncle Mello. Tsuki, Uncle Mello. Uncle Mello, Tsukiakari."

"Hello," waved Mello awkwardly.

Tsuki waved shyly back, "Hi."

Sam shook her head at them both.

"Him, along with his partner, my Uncle Matt (Who should be here soon), are here for about a week on order of my father so that I can get used to the fact we moved away. Which I am still confused as to why we did in the first place… They are the only other two who a hundred percent go against my father's wishes to keep me locked up. Uncle Near, who you may or may not meet, and my father would rather lock me up. My grandfather is an old, frail man who is my father's caretaker, although that role will one day be passed to me, unfortunately. He is kind, but doesn't say anything against my father unless he needs some advice. In order to keep me safe and the agreement that I'm not always locked in the house, my father is setting up cameras all along the places I can go. He is supposedly doing this without my knowledge. They are currently working on what is not in this center and will come here once they are finished. My father is currently trying to, yet again; get a stronger control over me in his sad way of protecting me. In other words, I won't be able to talk, work, eat, or leave without him watching my neck like a hawk. We cannot talk to each other, look at each other, or even go near each other, no matter the place except one."

"So basically, we either meet in the fortress or we are stuck being strangers for the rest of our lives," Tsuki deadpanned.

"Correct," replied Sam.

Tsuki groaned and sat up from Sam's lap, not noticing Sam's millisecond look of disappointment, "Where did your father get the power to do that? Who is he anyway?"

"I can't honestly tell you," evaded Sam as she drew her feet up to sit on them.

"What," snorted Tsuki, "Is he a spy or something?"

"If that was true I wouldn't be surprised," muttered Sam getting comfortable sitting on her hunches, "You have no idea how many things he keeps from me."

There was another pause as Sam growled. To Tsuki, it looked like she was trying to cultivate mushrooms; she would have laughed if this wasn't such a touchy subject on both parties.

"Why do you sit like that?" wondered Tsuki knowing that she shouldn't prod so she changed the subject instead.

Sam shrugged, "My thinking skills would go down thirty percent if I don't either sit like this or sprawl."

Tsuki rolled her eyes away from Sam, "You could probably think just fine if you sat normally."

"Oh, this is quite normal for me, I assure you."

"Your back is going to hunch and there's no way that is normal for someone so young."

"Possibly," Sam chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully, "but I don't think that having a hunched back currently matters. Looks are so petty to go by."

"Good impressions are important you know," Tsuki replied.

"I have no one important enough to leave a good impression on at this second, so, again, I doubt it matters."

Mello snorted, _'Now what other two people that I know are like that?'_ but then, Mello processed what he just thought and inhaled deeply. _'Ok…it's got to be a coincidence…but L said __**he**__ lived somewhere near the police headquarters…Tsukiakari is pretty smart compared to others her age…I guess it's possible…'_

It was a sudden proclamation that snapped Mello out of his thoughts.

"What happens if we forget to set up a new time or can't make it to a meeting? I can only assume that since your father is so strict that your phone is also monitored," wondered Tsuki.

"I have thought about this too, but I don't know what to do about it," Sam sighed reluctantly.

"You haven't opened my present yet then," interrupted Mello.

"What do you mean, Uncle Mello? How can I open a panda- Oh." Sam groaned at her stupidity, "The extra stitches. I knew something odd was up with that, but I thought it was just your poor sewing skills."

Mello glared at Sam offended.

Tsuki watched Sam, confused about what they were talking about, as she stood up and grabbed her bag. From it, she pulled out a deformed stuffed panda and sat back down on the couch. Sam inspected the stitches before running her hand over a stitch that was slightly out and pulled on it, allowing the stitches to become loose and the panda's contents to spill over her lap. Tsuki stared shocked at the pile of stuffing that held two spinning charm necklaces, one of an ebony black stone and the other of platinum silver stone, two pairs of sunglasses, both of which when you turn you can see a small gleam of chips scattered inside, and four metal wristbands that looked normal, but were large enough to make the panda a bit stiffer than normal.

"The necklaces are tracking beakers that are always on, and if you spin the top and bottom, it will send an emergency message to the other one. The message is a pulsing that you will constantly feel and will become stronger the closer you get to the other. You just have to follow its natural pull to find the other," explained Mello as he grabbed the necklaces to show how they worked before touching them together to stop the pulsing.

Sam grabbed the ebony stoned one and tied it around her neck. Tsuki tried to do the same with the platinum one. Mr. Hachimitsu came over to sit by Tsuki on the couch, tying it for her. Tsuki smiled at him in thanks as he left to go see to the ringing of another customer at the front desk.

"The sunglasses are not really anything special other than being able to see in the dark and through clothing. I thought they were kind of cool, so I swapped them from The FBI."

"That's the American force, right?" asked Tsuki quickly to Sam who nodded.

"All you have to do is press the side button for interchangeable pleasure," Mello pressed the side of the glasses as example, "The wristbands may or may not be helpful depending on…"

Mello turned to look at Tsuki, "Since I already know that Sam can, I need to know if you understand Morse code."

Tsuki blinked up at Mello as he silently worried that she couldn't, but was relieved when she hesitantly nodded back.

"Good, because that is how you will be communicating with the bands," replied Mello as he grabbed one set.

At that moment Mr. Hachimitsu came back with Sam's Uncle Matt. Mello smirked at him.

"Just in time, Matty-boy," said Mello, motioning Matt over to him as he place the other set on Matt's arms, "Oh, Tsukiakari, this is Matt. Matt, Tsukiakari."

"Yo," acknowledged Matt as he clipped his bands shut.

Tsuki found it odd how he didn't even hesitate as he did as he was told, or showed to do.

"Nice to meet you," replied Tsuki, again shyly.

As he clicked on his own set, Mello explained how they worked, "The one that is placed on my right wrist is the messenger, you can tell by the smaller size. You use your fingers to code so it looks like you are bored and are just taping your band. The one on my left wrist is the receiver; this is the larger one of the two," he held his wrist side by side and the size difference was there, but only if you actually cared to look, "The receiver on my wrist is connected to the messenger on Matt's wrist and my Messenger is connected to Matt's receiver."

Mello quickly sent a message (_Tsuki reminds me of __**him**__ so much it's not even funny. I swear she's his daughter._) And Matt then sent a reply (_She's a bit like him sure, but I doubt that she is. You are such a women when you are trying to figure out others._) Mello blushed, glaring at Matt who smirked back at him before going back to his show, "Notice how you can't tell that the message was received other than my, er, reaction. That is because it hits you on the inside of the band on your skin. It is pretty simple to figure out."

Mello and Matt took off their bands before handing them to Tsuki and Sam to figure out. The bands were odd because they seemed to get longer and shorter to adjust to the size of their owner. Tsuki had a bit of trouble getting the receiver band to slide underneath her precious watch for easier concealment. As soon as both bands were clipped onto Sam's and Tsuki's wrists both of them yelped as a sting quickly washed over them.

"Opps, I forgot to mention that in order to work, they have to have a bit of your DNA encoded into it. Luckily, each set can only have two owners and since Matt and I already used them, you are the only others that can use their code. If someone else wears them, then the message you sent comes back to you and the other set is just a set of two regular wristbands."

"_Thank you very much,"_ said Tsuki to both Mello and Matt.

Matt laughed and Mello replied, surprised at Tsuki's ability to speak English, _"Yeah, sure. No problem."_

"No, really, thank you," said Sam as she hugged her Uncle Mello, "You are really helping us a lot."

"I told you, I would always be there to support you," replied Mello kindly and rather out of character.

"Nothing is too much for our goddaughter," said Matt with a wink at Sam.

All of a sudden, Mello's cell phone went off and he released his and Sam's hug to answer it, "Hullo? Yeah…right in front of us…eating at the bakery. Sure, I'll tell her... Bye."

Sam blinked up at her Uncle Mello, "Father's coming, isn't he?"

"Yup," exclaimed Mello, "He'll be here in about three minutes."

Sam sprinted over to her stuff, putting her panda back together, shoving Tsuki's sunglasses into her hands, and slipping her backpack onto her back in a confusing fifteen second time lapse.

"Bye. Happy Birthday Sammy-chan," smiled Tsuki as she grabbed her into a hug that was much less awkward then their other ones.

"Goodbye Tsuki. Happy Birthday to you too," Sam replied with her reserved smile that was only for Tsuki.

Mello and Matt both choked on their spit when they heard that both girls were born on the same day. Mello looked over at Matt. Matt looked back with a knowing look.

Sam rolled her eyes and quickly dragged them out into the (still deserted) customers' seating area just in time. They were able to sit down with plates of cake just as L and Near came into view. Tsuki was allowed to grab ahold of Mr. Hachimitsu's hand as he went to the front counter, thankful that he really didn't have a camera to keep surveillance in the back and that the other three would not be caught. He reassuringly squeezed Tsuki's hand as it was shaking in suspense of being caught by Sam's mysterious father or her own mother and brother.

Once Sam, Mello, and Matt were sitting at the table (and making it look like they've been there for a while now), Mello leaned over the table to ask Sam a quick question before L and Near came inside.

"Hey Sam?" asked Mello worriedly.

"Yes Uncle?" replied Sam, wondering what Mello was worried about.

"What's Tsuki's last name?" asked Mello, quickly glancing around to see L and Near a foot from the door.

"Yagami…why?" asked Sam perplexed.

Mello's and Matt both inhaled a huge breathe as they heard L and Near walk through the door. They didn't even close their gaping mouths as L and Near sat down next to them, who looked at them both in question.

"What did you three talk about?" asked Near.

"I commented on their inability to be discreet about their relationship in the bakery. If an unsuspecting family came in, they could easily never come back," lied Sam swiftly and effortlessly. Her acting skills were always better than normal even for a teenager.

"Have you two finished _jacking around_?" question L towards Mello and Matt in a quite blunt message.

Matt was the first to recover from the shock of Tsuki's name, "….Yes. We are _completely_ finished."

"Good," said Sam, perfecting the mask of innocents of the situation, "I don't like it when you randomly start groping each other in public. It's obscene."

"I quite agree," replied L, "However, I'd now like tea and some cake. Excuse me for a moment."

Tsuki gripped hold of Mr. Hachimitsu's hand tighter as L sat down at Sam's table and talked to them. It was blatantly obvious that this man was Sam's father, but for some reason, he seemed familiar. The only main difference that there was between Sam and her father was that he slouched a lot, which looked awkward and brought out his panda like features. Tsuki, embarrassed about thinking he resembled a panda, shyly buried her face into the side of Mr. Hachimitsu. She didn't notice that he came to the counter until she heard his practically monotone voice.

"Good day," greeted L, "I'd like two pieces of your strawberry cheesecake and oolong tea please."

"Right away sir," replied Mr. Hachimitsu, "your total is ¥1150."

"Thank you," replied L.

Mr. Hachimitsu smiled before letting go of Tsuki, handing her the money to make change, and walking into the back to warm up tea. Tsuki watched him go before reaching under the counter to grab a stool so she could reach the cash register since she was still pretty short for her age. She squirmed as she noticed the intense look that L was shooting her. She decided to play it safe by acting like an eight year old should. The change needed was simple enough to figure, but she took her time counting out the money on the side and pausing when she fixed her purposeful error. Triumphantly, she placed the money in a neat-ish pile to hand back to L.

"Thank you sir!" chirped Tsuki cutely.

L hesitated for just a second before nodding, "Your welcome."

Mr. Hachimitsu came back with the tea and told Tsuki to cut two pieces of the cake from the display table. Tsuki flashed him a smile before scurrying over to the display that was by the front window. She forcefully ignored the others sitting at the small table less than a meter away.

"Excuse me sir," asked L as he stared at Tsuki, "Is that child your granddaughter?"

"Oh heavens no," chuckled Mr. Hachimitsu, "I only have a grandson, but I do think of Tsukiakari-chan as my family."

"I see," muttered L, "Why is she working here?"

"She's not," said Mr. Hachimitsu wisely (L swore that he was like a Japanese Watari), "Her father asked me to watch her while he is working."

"How gracious of you," L replied honestly.

"I don't mind," replied Mr. Hachimitsu, "Tsukiakari-chan is a helpful little girl."

"Here you go sir!" tweeted Tsuki, totally playing up the fact that she 'didn't' hear the conversation.

L nodded, but he didn't say anything else as he sat back down at his table and stared out into space in concentration. Tsuki and Sam quickly glanced at each other before looking away, thankful that no one else caught on to their behavior.

'He's suspects something,' coded Tsuki easily.

'I don't think he is suspicious of us, though,' replied Sam.

'What a peculiar man,' Tsuki messaged back.

"Sam," asked L before Sam could reply, "How do you feel about going out to buy you some actual fitting close today?"

"If you approve of it then it's fine," replied Sam monotonously.

"Good," L looked at Sam with a calculated eye.

Sam stared at L with a bored and indifferent look as he finished his cakes. He took two bits and the first one was gone. The second one was devoured in a bit and a half. Sam could tell he just wanted to get out of there. Sure enough, as Tsuki came over and grabbed the plates and empty tea cup, L was up and motioning the others to follow him out the door without another word.

'Bye Sammy!' coded Tsuki hurriedly.

Sam smiled softly, 'Bye. Talk to you later.'

Sam finished her shopping with her family while creating herself a perfect mask. The indifference that would forever be stuck on her face in front of her father would be impossible to break. She loved him, but he had gone too far this time. With her Uncle's going back to England within the week, she knew that she would have to play it safe and listen to her father. The one lucky thing was that since her grandfather couldn't move around as much anymore, Sam could easily sneak off to visit Tsuki through the hidden path that lead to the main street. She would just have to figure out how to make that fortress their home….

When Sam left, Tsuki turned to Mr. Hachimitsu. He smiled at her and allowed her to hug his side. They stood there for a moment before realization yet again hit her hard. She was going to be dead in her own house and there was nothing to stop it. She couldn't go to the police, she couldn't talk to her dad, and she couldn't run away. She didn't even want to imagine what was going to happen once she got home that evening. Though she had help from outside, she could never get helped inside. The only thing that reassured her was the thought that Sam would always be there for her. She would never be abandoned even if something went terribly wrong. Sam promised her that, and she would keep her to that promise.

"I'm scared," she whispered to Mr. Hachimitsu.

"I know," said Mr. Hachimitsu with a sympathetic and worrying smile, "I know."

"I don't want to face this alone. I'll have Sammy-chan for comfort, but I can't get out of that house without losing daddy," she buried her head further into Mr. Hachimitsu, "Things won't change in that horrible place for the better, I know that."

Mr. Hachimitsu's face was saddened by the fact that he could give no reassuring words to her about that house; for he knew that what she told him was the truth.

"It's going to hurt. It's going to get worse. I'm never going to be safe."

Tsuki shook in Mr. Hachimitsu's arms, silently crying until it was time for her to go home. She put on a brave front as she went home, hoping that this was just a bad dream. However, once she stepped foot into that house without her father, her mother and brother were not pleased; not pleased at all.

That night when she was left bleeding in the pantry, Tsuki coded to Sam, both creating a vow. They would live for each other and never give up on one another. No one would break them apart. They would find a way out of the hell that they lived in. In the process of doing so, they would fall in love, just as their parents fell in love before them. Only this time, the game wasn't of minds. It was of survival.

A/N: So, what do you think so far? I know that this story does not follow much on the actual Death Note series, and I am sorry to those of you that yell at me to get that part into gear, but the whole L and Light thing doesn't show up for a while! Remember, while this is in the category of L and Light, the main focus is their daughters!

Also, this is where random TIME GAPS start to come into play. There are going to be some flashbacks, fluff, torture, and all that jazz in the next chapters! I hope you have enjoyed this story so far (Even though I have no Beta)! It is nowhere near done yet and I am pretty sure there will be a sequel, but I'll talk about that at a way, way, way later point in time! I love you for reading this, but please, don't hesitate to review!

With Chocolate, Tea, and of course Love,

Kira Kiwaseki


	8. Pasts Uncovered

'_This is thought bubble'_

"This is speaking"

"_This is English"_

'This is coding'

A/N: So….PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I don't have a good reason to not update. I give you full and total permission to hurt me. Just, don't kill me or mortally wound…..you can send me to a hospital as long as recovery doesn't take more than a month!... Anyway, I had a Eureka moment and did most of this in one night! Grr…..so enjoy and sorry for the looonnnggg wait. I am also going to stop putting in the previous stuff in italics at the beginning. I might go back and get rid of them from other chapters to, so. Here's my UPDATE!

* * *

The Tape.

L could not recall why each and every time he watched, he felt a strong throb of pain rip through his heart in anguish and guilt, but would continue watching in almost a sick fascination of how he acted and how wicked his mistakes were. He could not see why it had taken him almost 15 years to find it, and he could not see how he could have been so foolish when he was so calculating and cautious, well, was supposed to be anyway.

The light that once shone in L's life had been blinding before abruptly exploding into a black hole. Every star that showed the way to the future imploded and disappeared out of existence the moment **she** said, "I'm pregnant! Isn't that great? You'll be a daddy Raito-kun!"

L sighed as he put in the tape for the 1,527 time since he discovered it three months after Sam turned seven. Watari had told L that the record room was in need of cleaning as all the tapes had been compiling randomly throughout the years without organization. Once L looked through, he noticed the date on this one because he knew that date by heart. He didn't think that there was any tape being played, but he recalled at that point in time that he had stormed out once **she **was done explaining with Light frantically following in his trail. The room they had been in didn't have tape, but the private study did.

As static showed quickly at the beginning, L once again pondered and watched the tape. He still wasn't sure why he acted so ridiculously out of character, but as they say, Love makes you do crazy things. (A/N: My excuse for all OOCness!)

_A clear, almost empty room showed up once the static faded. It was completely bare but the desk and chair in the right corner facing the wall along with a cushioned seat sitting on the immediate left of the desk, facing away from the wall. Each wall was painted in a dark green with the ceiling a shade darker. The desk held a lamp, some papers, pens, pencils, and a small box that sat next to the lamp. There was one door to the room and it was currently shut on the opposite side of the desk. One window was in the room and it was on the left hand side of the chair, easy access to the streets outside from the desk and the cushioned seat. The weather outside was easily reflecting the crisp, warm night of June._

_Suddenly, the door burst open and a fuming L stormed in towards the window. He punched the wall mercilessly before placing both his hands on different sides of the window, sagging dolefully. A shout was heard from the other side of the door as the door yet again was thrown open and a confused and panicked Light hurried over to L._

_"It's __**not**__mine L! I swear! I haven't been with her ever and you know that! I don't know what trick she's playing at or how she even thinks that I would have a child with her! There was never a her-and-me! It was only ever me and you! Please, you must believe me!" Light cried as he reached for L, who flinched back at the touch._

_"Don't touch me, __**Kira-kun**__," bit out L as he pushed the misty-eyed Light away, "Your deceitfulness has caused enough havoc already for the investigation. Miss Amane has obviously testified and admitted that you are really Kira. As such has been stated, I should arrest both you and Miss Amane at once and let you rot in a jail cell before lethal injection."_

_"L!" Light said desperately, "You already knew I had no choice! Kira had overtaken me by the time I met you yes, but that doesn't mean that __**I**__ didn't love you! We already talked about this! Come on L! See reason!"_

_"Stop spouting lies," hissed L as he turned to face Light menacingly._

_"I lied to protect you!" screamed out Light frustrated, "If I hadn't taken precaution and Kira found out about this, you would have died!"_

_"I should have died then," L roared out, "because the blow to my heart has already killed me!"_

_Light walked back up to L, trying to calm him down, "But L, it's not-"_

_"Enough," L said lowly, chillingly as he straightened and backed Light up into the corner, loomed over him, "If you did indeed not have intercourse with the she-witch, you charlatan, then why is she saying that that – __**thing**__ – is yours?"_

_"L, it must have been Kira's," Light explained slowly as he seemed to see what was going on, "I never was dishonest to you when it came to love. So the only way it could technically be mine would be that Kira wanted this to happen and he was the one who-"_

_"Light, you are Kira!" L growled, "And I bet the moment you walk out of here, your smirking face will be the last reminder! You and that woman can kindly leave the premises now or I will follow through with my threat!"_

_"L," Light whispered sadly, "Kira is dead; he is no longer controlling me. Please! You must understand. Ryuk took Kira away months ago! The only reason Misa is doing this is because she doesn't know! Maybe Kira was controlling another and he is the father! That thing is no way mine! Please L! I love __**you**__! I wouldn't do something this cruel to you unless I didn't!"_

_L turned away and pointed to the door, hissing softly, "If you really loved me, you would leave and never come back."_

_"Lawliet-"_

_L turned and glared at Light, "Leave me you – you - YOU HEINOUSLY INTOLERABLE, BASTARDLY GOD FORSAKEN CHEATER!"_

_Light stood shocked into silence._

"_AND TAKE YOUR SLUT WITH YOU!"_

_L spun back to face the wall and Light didn't know what to do until his face turned completely blank and he whispered, "bye Lawliet…..love."_

_As the door shut behind him, L sank to his knees and for the first time since he was a toddler, he cried unrestrained and frantically. He didn't stop even when Watari came in and helped him up into the cushioned chair. He grabbed for the box next to the lamp and opened it to reveal a ring. As he clutched it to his chest, heaving tears and moans, he whispered, "I loved you Light. I wish my proposal would have been said, and then perhaps you could have loved me back."_

The tape blacked out again. L sat there with misty eyes and wound the tape to, surprisingly, his second biggest moment that he royally screwed up. He had, against his mind's wishes, followed his messed up heart. If this wasn't a Told-you-so moment by his intellectual mind, he didn't know what was. It took all his will power not to just annihilate all that reminded him of Light. It also took every ounce of his being not to arrest Light on account of being Kira, which he was. The heart break of the situation was insane and retched.

Eight years later, he thought he had finally put it all behind him, but of course, he just had to know how Light was for the last time. He made an even bigger mistake then he thought was possible. This time, he couldn't forget because the reminder of said mistake walked by him and lived with him every day for the last eight years. Sam.

L stopped the tape, allowing it to replay what he had done without thoughts outside of regret.

_On the screen, L sat watching the one monitor he had next to his laptop, sipping tea and munching on a piece of strawberry cheesecake. The room was dark, no furniture was present, but there was a lamp seated on the right side of L._

_Displayed on the monitor itself was an office of one of the NPA chiefs. More specifically, Light Yagami's office. The office was roomy, mahogany desk and chair where laid out next to the only window that allowed light through. A filing cabinet was standing on the left of the desk, neat and tidy, just like Light liked things to be. There were no misplaced items, no mess, and no loose papers spread across the desk. Everything fit in the room, even Light's look fit; rich-satin clothes a solid earth tan, white silk undershirt, and a lightly striped red and amber colored tie perched on top of the undershirt, but underneath the suit._

_Light was reading over a document and signing his name in the appointed areas before stamping the paper with the word acceptance and placing it in the pile left of his right hand. He picked up another and as he glanced at the entailments, he crossed the first page with a large ink slash and stamping declined onto the marked paper. He tossed that onto the larger stack of papers seated next to the accepted pile before hearing a knock on his door. Without even looking up at the door, Light grabbed another document on his right before even acknowledging the knock with a low but powerful, "Why aren't you using the phone Hatorika-san?"_

"_I'm sorry, Chief Yagami, but it's your wife-"_

"_Hiya Light-kun! Misa-Misa has something exciting to tell you! Please open the door!"_

_Light's hand faltered and he looked up for the first time from his work. He gently placed down his pen and paper, hesitantly._

"…_Let her in Hatorika-san," Light said after a moment._

_The door opened and Misa shot through up to Light with a paper in her hand and barely any clothing on her body. Light tensed up and stayed tense as Misa placed the paper in front of him on his desk. Light glanced around her to see Hatorika shutting the door quickly and quietly. Misa looked about ready to burst into blabber, but Light quickly turned to her._

"_Misa," Light said calmly, "What are you doing here? And where is Yukio? It's Saturday and there is no school."_

"_Oh Light-kun shouldn't worry about darling little Yukio," Misa babbled like an idiot, "He's an angel and can stay at home and entertain himself with his friends!"_

"_You left a seven-year-old at home with no adult supervision?" Light said this slowly, but angrily._

"_He's with his friends!" Misa chirped, seemingly not able to hear the warning from Light._

"_So you thought that leaving a house full of seven-year-olds without ADULT supervision was a smart choice?" Light's voice was deadly calm, "They could get hurt Misa. Go back."_

"_Misa-Misa is so happy you care for Yukio!" Misa clapped, "That means that another baby wouldn't be a problem!"_

_There was absolutely no sound as Light stared incredulously at Misa._

_Up to this point, L had been eating away at his cheesecake and sipping tea without problems, but the moment Misa said those words, he sputtered with widened eyes._

"_What?" both L and Light said at the same time._

"_That's the news I wanted to tell you!" Misa exclaimed in her annoying voice, "I'm pregnant!"_

"_But that's impossible!" Light exploded in a way that should be understood as that they haven't done a married couples duty in a loooonngg time._

_By this time, L had stopped coughing on his tea. Instead, he was staring at the screen with rapt attention, knuckles starting to turn white as they clutched his knees like a life line._

"_Oh silly," Misa blushed, "You know it's not. I mean, how anyone could forget such a night as last month at the 'Antre' Demor' I don't know! It was such a lovely June night!"_

_L's teeth ground mercilessly, as if he knew something about that night._

_Light blinked once before groaning and placing his head in his hands onto his desk._

"_The break up anniversary, June 30__th__," whispered Light, making sure Misa didn't hear, but L unknowingly did. L's eyes softened in sadness before hardening in anger._

"_Remember how depressed you were? I took you to the bar and ordered you a drink. It was an English drink….I think it is called bear? Oh, well. You liked it and so I just kept giving you some and before I knew it we had a night of fun!"_

_Light paused for a moment, "Let me get this straight. You gave me an alcoholic drink called beer and then had sex with my passed out body?"_

"_Oh Light-kun," Misa giggled obliviously, "You make it sound so silly! But the proof is on that paper in front of you! I'm due around Yukio's birthday!"_

_Light's breath got erratic as he tried to rein in his emotions. Once he got them into control, he stared at the offensive paper. Quickly picking it up, he read over the information, grinding his teeth together in irritation. Finally he looked up at Misa._

"_I don't think you should have it," Light dead-panned._

_Misa gasped._

"_Why? Misa-Misa thought that this would be a great idea! She only want's Light-kun to be happy and want to be around her!"_

"_Misa," Light growled, "You had a hard enough time being pregnant with Yukio and I don't think you would be able to handle the task of raising another child when the one you have is running loose in a house with other unsupervised children because of your imprudent actions!"_

"_I want this baby Light-kun, please! I want you to be happy with Misa-Misa!"_

"_No."_

"_Please Light-kun. It's only one more! Another little one to love!"_

_At this point, Misa was in tears and Light was livid._

_L wasn't doing any better, "That's right Kira; prove to me that you are even lower by murdering an innocent unborn child."_

_Light stared at Misa for an eternity, which was really about five minutes, before closing his eyes and sighing._

"_Misa, you drank. Almost every time I came home, you smelled like alcohol and you couldn't even stand up straight! Really! It's a miracle that Yukio didn't have any birth defects! If you could promise to keep away from alcohol or any sort of drug, __and__ if you could promise to follow every one of my rules, then it __**could **__be a possibility," Light pointed out._

_Misa nodded her head frantically, "Yes, yes! Misa-Misa will do as Light-kun says! Misa will be as good as good can be! Just please let Misa-Misa please Light-kun with this child! Please!"_

_Light stared at her, elbows on his desk, mouth hidden by his folded hands. His eyes narrowed before he put his hands down._

"_All right, you can have it-" Misa cheered, "But-," Light quickly reprimanded, "but, I will be making a list of rules with which you will reside to always and without question for the rest of your pregnancy. I will be home every day at six o'clock and I expect you and Yukio to be behaving and doing as you are both told. Understood? If you do, then please leave. I can't work unless you are out of my sight."_

"_Yes! Oh yes Light-kun!" Misa sobbed out happily, flinging herself across the desk and shocking Light as she landed on him and gave him a rough kiss. Before Light could even yell at her, Misa was scurrying off through the door with a quick, "See you at six Light-kun!"_

_Light never saw the sly smile on Misa's face as she walked out the door, but L did._

_Light huffed outraged, looking at his office which now had papers laying everywhere from Misa's obvious lack in judgment. As Light surveyed the damage, he groaned and got up to pick up the papers._

"_Like I didn't have enough problems to start with," Light muttered as he placed the papers back on his desk and eyed the hospital sheet with Misa's pregnancy test results, "And she just had to go and get pregnant again."_

_Light leaned back on his desk before saying to the room, "Well L, this time you actually have something to hate me for. This child is officially and irrefutably, mine …"_

_As Light trailed off, L shut down the monitor quickly and thoughtfully, his face hidden from the camera, so the shaking in his shoulders could have been from either sorrow or anger. Quickly snapping out of it, L grabbed for his cell phone in one hand and searched his computer with his other. He clicked on a website with a description of "Need a quick, available surrogate mother? Look no further! One fast and easy click can get you in touch with one of these fine, young women in moments!" as Watari answered his call._

"_...Yes, L?" Watari asked concerned by the call._

"_Cancel any and all plans for the next two weeks," L said as he scrolled down the websites list of available woman._

"_Whatever for?" Watari asked perplexed._

"_I am producing an heir," L said, steel in his voice, clicking on a young woman around twenty-three who's looks were stunningly similar to Light's but not quite so similar brain category (but L thought that it could be worse). Her hometown was Seattle, Washington and she currently needed money for her business. L quickly typed out his information, using one of his mainly unused aliases, Sterling Alexander, and hit the send button. Luckily within moments, his request was Okayed by the woman and her cell phone number appeared._

"_L, don't do anything rash," Watari warned._

"_I won't," L said as he ended the conversation and dialed the number on the screen._

_L put the phone to his ear waiting for the other side to pick up, "Hello Miss Charlotte? I'm Sterling Alexander. I wish to use your services…Yes, as soon as possible if you will…Excellent; I shall send you an informational packet over the internet within the hour. Thank you."_

_L shut his phone and immediately started making the document, "Two can play at this game Misa. Just you wait and see…."_

L turned off the video as it ran out of tape. His few remaining hopes flew out the window on that day. It wasn't so much that he just lost one thing. No, he actually lost everything he ever wanted. And it's all because he didn't listen.

However, he would never understand some of the reasoning that Light gave. How was it even possible for Kira to even be able to exist as a parasitic person? It clearly stated in the Death Note that in order to give it up, you had to surrender all memories too. Obviously, Light wasn't Kira anymore, but he had all memories. L was still trying to figure out that puzzle since even that didn't make any sense with the Death Note and Shinigami World.

L sighed and pulled up his favorite picture from when he and Light were still a couple. It was at Whammy's and was taken by Mello from his perch in the willow tree next to the gate. Snow covered the ground as the night before had been the first snow fall of the winter. Whammy's had thrown L a birthday party much to L's protests that night and had a giant snowball fight – a "gift" of Mello's. This picture was of both Light and L covered head to toe in warm fuzzy clothes and chunks of snow. L was snuggling Light to his chest as he rested his chin on Light's shoulder, one arm wrapped around his chest and the other around his waist. Light's posture was relaxed and all sweet smiles as he rested his head against L's, one hand gripping onto L's arm around his chest and his other arm was wrapped over the one on his waist. L could remember why he loved Light so much every time he saw the picture.

"I wish I could set back time and erase all of these mistakes. The constant reminders of my failures just depress. If they weren't here, then maybe we could be happy again instead of living day by day in torture. Right Light?" L muttered to the picture.

Since L was thinking about Light, he never heard the quick gasp and the sound of a choked sob coming from the emergency stairs outside the windows.

* * *

A/N: Ok, it's been a while, sorry X(. So, I got this one up now and I think I'll start getting my other story LLFAALTCP back up. I don't have anything else to say but this….

DON'T KILL ME I AM SOOOOOOOO SORRY! I WILL WORK HARDER AND TRY TO GET THINGS BACK UP AND NOT WORRY ABOUT MY OTHER STORIES (THAT I HAVE YET TO WORK ON COMPLETEY) UNTIL MUCH LATER! SOOOOOORRRRRRRYYYYYY!

Ok…..*peaks up from curled position* It doesn't look deadly….I'll see you later when I update….*I smile hesitantly, not noticing the stampede of ticked off people with dangerous weapons like pitchforks and starving lions coming closer to me.*

P.S. If you happen to find any mistakes, please tell me. Since I still do not have a beta, my grammer and what not stinks. (I try to read over it, but I always seem to miss something.)


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